


Echoes of the Crossing Realms

by ComfyDreamer



Category: Original Work
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, Fluff, Future, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2019-09-16
Packaged: 2019-09-28 18:25:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 122,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17188091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ComfyDreamer/pseuds/ComfyDreamer
Summary: A regular, average boy meets a regular, average spirit. You know, a regular, average occurrence. As they get to know each other more, worlds intertwine and fiction becomes reality as they are drawn into a struggle against an otherworldly enemy.





	1. Meeting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I had a planner for this lying around for almost a year, and I decided to dust it off and rewrite it. I didn't dream up the whole plot this time, but the basic idea did come from yet another dream I had about a year ago.
> 
> Also, artsy-but-somewhat-nonsensical name is artsy. But also somewhat nonsensical. I can't be bothered to think of it for longer, I had already spent at least half an hour thinking about it.
> 
> This story will be a platform for me to try out a number of things I've wanted to experiment with in my writing. I had a lot of ideas for this one, and I'm eager to test them out. Well, here goes!

Sunlight streamed through the half-open blinds as Terry yawned and slowly rubbed his eyes. As if to give him an extra incentive to get out of bed, his alarm clock abruptly went off, prompting the boy to slam his hand down on the snooze button. Yawning a second time, he lazily rolled out of bed and leisurely stretched out.

Terry noticed that as planned, he had woken up at a much earlier time than the ideal time for him to start getting ready for school. As such, he took his time getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and popping two slices of bread into the toaster. While his breakfast toasted, he packed his bag and checked the news on his laptop computer, only to find that nothing out of the ordinary had happened today.

Once his toast finished, he quickly took them out, cooled them with an extended period of heavy breathing, and simply ate them without any toppings. Noticing he had a good fifteen minutes left before his ideal departure time, Terry decided to go and play a video game on his computer to kill the extra time. By the time his character had gotten eviscerated by the dragon again, Terry decided that it was time to go.

This was a prime example of Terry’s average school morning, who had learned from a very young age to be _extremely_ autonomous. When your parents mysteriously died when you were just six, it would probably be in your best interests to learn how to be an independent individual as quickly as possible. Fortunately for him, his parents had left him a significant amount of funds - and his older brother, who unfortunately spent most of his time in another country, had quickly taught him how to use said funds well. So, Terry now spent his life in a small apartment, living a simple life and taking care of himself. He had enrolled in a nearby school, and was doing exceptionally well academically. Apparently being self-taught didn’t matter if you were as diligent as Terry was.

As the snowy ground glistened amidst the rays of the rising sun, Terry walked monotonously towards the large school in the distance, stopping every once in a while to kick chunks of ice that had rolled onto the sidewalk.

Looking at the rest of his schoolmates walking together in large groups, he felt the slightest pangs of longing. It was needless to say that living by yourself for most of your life would take a toll on your social interactions. Without anyone to raise him or provide parental affection, Terry had become more than a little introverted. He still had friends, of course, but sometimes he still felt lonely.

He was outwardly fine with this, of course, but at times like this he became curious about his past. Being barely six at the time, he had no idea why his parents had mysteriously vanished. And if he were to be totally honest with himself, it left him with feelings of longing and even resentment - longing because he wanted to know how his parents had died, resentment because he wanted to know _why_ his parents left him to fend for himself.

Yet...the truth was something that he wasn’t too driven to uncover. He was content with just living in ignorance for now.

 

Before long, he had arrived at his destination. Walking into his first class, the school day went along just like every other one in his life - just carefully listening to his teachers and dutifully carrying out all the work that was instructed of him. He had a science test in second period, but he had studied a week in advance.

As he had expected, second period’s test wasn’t too difficult.

Third period was a bit different, though.

 

As Terry sat down for lunch, he sighed and looked around, noticing that his friends weren’t here yet. Despite somewhat lacking in the social skills department, Terry wasn’t a _complete_ loner. He still had a select few friends that he hung out with regularly.

However, just as he was about to start eating, something hit him in the back of the head. Grunting in annoyance and reaching behind him, Terry’s fingers wrapped around a balled-up piece of paper. Unraveling it, he shook his head when he found that the paper was blank, leaving it on the desk.

It wasn’t long before another ball hit him. And another one. Terry reacted with a mix of indifference and annoyance, but he stole glances in the direction that the paper was being thrown from. What he saw was exactly what he expected - a group of various snickering youth, led by a young man with messy blonde hair.

Terry rolled his eyes. _Mark again? These guys don’t know when to quit, do they?_

He couldn’t remember a high school year when Mark hadn’t made it his life goal to annoy and harass Terry as much as possible. Normally Terry would ask him if he had any better life goals than that, but judging from the abysmal grades that Mark tended to get, he had decided that he already knew that answer.

However, for some inane reason, people still liked the guy - he always had a large group of students following around. Mark liked to call them friends. Terry preferred “hapless, soon-to-be exploited victims”.

Terry ignored the next couple balls of paper that hit his head, occasionally reaching over to catch them. Mark was the kind of guy that hated pretty much everyone, especially people that actually had smarts. But it had become evident over the years that he was targeting Terry specifically, probably because he saw him as a vulnerable, depressed orphan. This secretly annoyed him to no end. Why did people make such a big deal over his lack of parenting? People like Mark targeted him for it, sure, but why did everyone else feel a need to pity him for it? Why couldn’t they just treat him the way everyone else did?

Unfortunately for Mark, Terry may have been orphaned and a bit depressed - but despite the fact that he mostly responded to their antics with passive indifference, he was far from vulnerable. He understood the risks of living alone, and his older brother had taken the liberty of personally teaching him self-defense - and this was on top of Terry constantly looking up self-defense tutorials on the internet. Mark’s gang had already tried to pick fights with him numerous times during out-of-school hours, and Terry had always responded to them in the way he knew best - violent retaliation.

He remembered nearly every scrap he had been in. They varied greatly, but all of them had one thing in common. Both parties would be wounded, and blood would be shed. But at the end of the day, Terry would still be standing tall, and most of his foes wouldn’t.

Terry instinctively clenched his fist, then reopened it. He didn’t like to admit it, but it felt _good_ to get revenge, no matter how petty it was. Terry clenched his teeth as he chided himself again. _That’s not healthy...cut it out._

Yet after countless beatdowns, Mark and his goons wouldn’t let up. As much as Terry wanted to just get up and put them in their place, he knew how to practice restraint...well, at least during school hours.

Eventually, the throwing of projectiles stopped. But a part of Terry’s mind was still simmering with suppressed rage, wondering how many times he’d have to beat Mark’s face in until he finally stopped bothering him.

 

Before long, Terry had finished his lunch and was now playing games on his laptop. He felt a presence beside him, and waved at two of the few youth that he could call friends.

Jerry sat down heavily, grinning from ear to ear. He had apparently gotten a haircut recently, because his already-short hair was even shorter than before. He wore simple, dark clothing like Terry himself.

Beside him stood Olivia, a shorter girl sporting a ponytail of longer brown hair. In contrast to the two boys with her, she wore simple yet vibrant clothing - jeans with a plain, bright blue t-shirt.

“Hey, guys.” Terry addressed them. “How’s life?”

“Great!” Olivia replied. “Sorry that we were a bit late. We stayed after a bit to help the teacher clean up all those whiteboards. Then Jerry realized that he had _somehow_ left his backpack in the math room, so…”

Jerry sighed. “Olivia, kindly shut up. It’s not that hard to forget something like that!”

“You forgot your _entire backpack!_ ”

“So what?”

Terry couldn’t help but smile at their bickering. He, Jerry, and Olivia shared similar traits. They were hard workers who got good grades, but also playful spirits who enjoyed the fun things in life. Jerry was the most studious of the trio, often skipping out on leisure opportunities to further his studies. Olivia, on the other hand, constantly slacked off and played around - but with her intellect and the intensity of her work, she still managed to get excellent grades. Terry served as the middle ground between the extremes - diligent, yet not overly so.

Terry sighed as his character was torn limb from limb yet again.

Jerry furrowed his brow. “You still on that boss?”

“Yes, and it pains me.” Terry groaned. “I’ve memorized his attack patterns, and I’m sure that my reflexes are fast enough to dodge all of his strikes. Then why can’t I beat it?”

“Maybe you should take a break from this game.” Olivia suggested. “Why do you exclusively play such difficult games anyways?”

Terry couldn’t give her a definitive answer, only shrugging as he put his computer away.

The three friends talked about their lives, their play, and their work. Their mundane conversations hid a fierce loyalty they had for each other. As the only students from their elementary school, Jerry and Olivia had started off school as loners, with nobody but themselves for real company. But when Terry had showed up, he had hesitantly accepted both Jerry and Olivia as his friends - a stark contrast to the majority of their classmates, who for whatever reason ignored them at best and scorned them at worst. This acceptance, which Jerry and Olivia had never experienced before, was what made them look up to Terry with so much respect. As for Terry himself, he was loyal to them for the simplest of reasons. They stuck by him, so it was his duty to stick by them. Not to mention that these two possessed an ability that nobody else Terry knew had possessed - the aforementioned ability to see past him being an orphan and accept him for who he really was.

A familiar voice called out to them. “Hey, guys!”

Jerry turned towards the voice as Terry nodded in acknowledgement. “Hey, Alberto!”

Carrying a tray of cafeteria food, their friend Alberto dumped his bag on the floor and sat down heavily. Alberto was a year younger than Terry and the others, with neatly combed black hair, a slightly chubby build, and a grey cardigan over a plain white shirt and cargo pants. While they had only met him thanks to a certain vending machine mishap that none of them was willing to talk about, they had soon found out that he was a pretty likeable guy. Sure, he wasn’t the most mature person around, but he was honest, reliable, and an all-around nice guy.

Alberto nudged Terry with his elbow. “You beat that dragon yet?”

Terry sighed in response. “Nope. I’ve gotten him to his fourth phase, but then those lava geysers always trap me so that he can blow me to kingdom come.”

The younger boy’s jaw dropped. “Lava geysers? Those exist? I’ve only made it to phase two before the guy bites my head off!”

Terry immediately started giving him advice while Jerry and Olivia pretended to understand what they were talking about. Jerry wasn’t one to play a lot of games, and Olivia occupied her spare time with other things.

Jerry suddenly thought of something and furrowed his brow. “You’re buying cafeteria food? You usually bring a lunch.”

Alberto laughed sheepishly. “Oh, my dad was busy yesterday.”

In response, Jerry frowned. “You should probably learn to cook. It’s worth your time, I promise.”

“Well, I can see that.” Alberto replied. “It’s just that I can’t work up the motivation to learn. I know it doesn’t take too long, but still…”

“Come on!” Olivia told him. “You’ve got a lot of cool ingredients and stuff at home, right? You could probably whip up something _way_ better than what the caf offers.”

Alberto shifted uncomfortably. “Uh...yeah, I guess.”

Olivia realized what she had said and silently cursed her lack of sensitivity. For them, it wasn’t exactly a secret that Alberto came from a very wealthy family, but he tried his best to behave like he wasn’t. He also didn’t like being judged for it or reminded of it - and that was just what Olivia had inadvertently done.

As the awkward silence persisted for about ten seconds, Jerry cleared his throat and changed the subject. “So, uh, Terry? I just did a math quiz in first, and I have a couple of questions I want to ask you.”

Terry nodded, having dozed off for the last couple minutes. “Eh? Ah, okay. What do you need?”

The conversation barely lasted a minute before Terry pointed out a mistake that Jerry had made in the fifth question of the quiz.

Just as Jerry screamed to the heavens, the bell rung. With haste, the friends packed up their bags, said their goodbyes, and left for fourth period.

 

The pale sun shone down on Terry as he slowly trudged back home, taking deep breaths of the cold, crisp air. He had never been an outdoor person, but he still liked walking home. Not only was it good for his health, it also sometimes helped improve his after-school mood, which was generally apathetic at best and gloomy at worst.

As he passed a park, he turned to look at the happy children playing in the snow with their friends and family. As he watched them, he felt the slightest pangs of jealousy. Then that jealousy was replaced by longing. It wasn’t good to be jealous of anyone, but seeing these happy children made him long for a childhood that he never had.

Terry turned to leave...and was seized by a sudden force.

Terry had no idea what this feeling that suddenly compelled him was. It was like instinct, but stronger - like some incorporeal being was grasping at his mind, gently egging him in the direction of the park. Looking around for any potential sources, Terry found none and wondered if his loneliness really _had_ made him a bit mentally unstable. Yet he had nothing better to do this afternoon...why not follow his heart for a bit?

His instincts took him into the park, past the slides and the playing children. It took him to the edge of the forest marking the soccer field’s boundaries, only stopping once he had reached a barren maple tree. As he stared at the plant, the same feeling beckoned him to...something buried under the dirt and snow at its base.

Hesitantly, Terry reached out a hand and swept away the loose soil around the tree’s base. His instincts continued nagging incessantly, so he kept digging...until, all of a sudden, a glint of pale blue surfaced.

Terry’s eyes widened as he dug away some more of the loose soil. Laying in the dirt before him was some kind of gemstone that was about the size of a USB drive. The jewel was shaped like a hexagonal prism pointed on both ends, and was colored a piercing shade of icy blue. As Terry turned the jewel in shock, it seemed to scatter the sun’s rays into countless sparkles of light - yet as he used his hand to block out the sunlight, the gem continued sparkling regardless.

Terry had a simple thought. _What the hell is this?_

For a moment, he wondered if this had belonged to someone, and if he should return it. But, judging from the fact that the thing had been buried under at least ten centimeters of dirt and mud, it was probably safe to say that it had been abandoned for quite a while. With this in mind, Terry decided to take the most optimal path - take the gem home with him, and maybe get it checked out the next day.

So with that, Terry pocketed the peculiar jewel and left for his home a second time.

 

An hour later, Terry sat in front of his work table, turning the gemstone over in his hands. He had already scoured the internet for any gemstone of this sort, but there didn’t seem to be a jewel quite like the one he held right now. It didn’t even seem to have lost its strange glow - in fact, it seemed to be glowing even brighter.

He sighed. Jerry and the others were busy today, so he couldn’t call them over to investigate. It wasn’t like he could invite them over all the time, anyways, but the truth was that Terry didn’t like the isolation that came with living alone. At school, at least he had his friends, teachers, and classmates. But at home...well, he just had himself.

Terry was about to turn to go to the bathroom when he suddenly felt the temperature drop. Slowly, he turned around to see that the jewel he had left on his desk glowing with an intense, otherworldly light that made him put his hands over his eyes to shield them. As he watched on in awe, the crystal produced a small wisp of blue energy, which began to writhe and disseminate into ethereal threads. The forms it took on while doing this deeply intrigued Terry despite his absolute disbelief of what was happening - if thoughts had shape, he imagined that they would look something like this writhing mass of threads.

Suddenly, the threads merged back together into a fiery wisp, which promptly began to expand and take shape. There was a flash of light, and suddenly Terry found himself face-to-face with something that...well, at least they _looked_ human?

The being that now hovered before him had the appearance of a young girl with pale skin. She had long, waist-length hair that was a silvery shade of icy-pale blue, and wore a simple dress that was as white as fresh snow. Instead of proper footwear, she wore a pair of long white socks. As the girl’s eyes opened, revealing themselves to be the same pale blue of her hair, Terry instinctively backed away and raised his hands, ready to defend himself.

The girl slowly landed on the ground, revealing that she was actually quite a bit shorter than Terry. Her head tilted quizzically.

Terry fought back the fear crawling up his throat and spoke. “What...no, who are you?”

The girl opened her mouth and emitted a strange series of noises, like a child trying to learn how to speak. “I...haaaaaa….”

Silence as the apparition struggled.

Then there was a glimmer in her eyes as she seemed to recall something. “I...my name is Trinity...I think. Trinity?”

Terry was lost for words. “Um...okay. Hi, Trinity. I’m Terry.”

“Terry...Terry…” Melody repeated as if trying to remember it. Her voice was high, faint, and had an echo to it - like she was speaking from the other end of a pipe.

Suddenly, there was another glimmer in her eyes. And she smiled. “Terry!”

“W-what?” Terry asked, stunned by her sudden enthusiasm.

“Terry! Terry!” Melody sang, practically bouncing in place. “Who are you?”

“I...could ask the same of you.”

Trinity tilted her head again, frowning. “I...who am I? I’m...Trinity! I said so!”

Terry shook his head. “No, not just your name. Where did you come from? Why were you inside that crystal? Are you some kind of...hallucination?”

“Hal...lu...ci...na...tion?” Trinity repeated, pronouncing each syllable slowly. “What is that?”

Terry sighed. “Ok, never mind. How about where you came from?”

“I...don’t know.” Trinity mumbled. “I don’t...know a lot. I know that I’m Trinity, and that I’m here...right?”

 _So she doesn’t have any memories?_ Terry wondered. _She doesn’t seem to know anything except her name. In addition, her general mindset seems to be very...childlike._

Trinity shook her head. “I...where am I?”

“You’re in my apartment.” Terry told her simply. “I found this crystal thing buried in a park, and you came out of it.”

The mysterious apparition tilted her head again. “A...part...ment?”

“Basically my home.” Terry said hurriedly. “But...what are you?”

Trinity opened her mouth, then shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Terry sighed. Questioning this strange entity seemed to be producing more questions than answers. For now, Terry just thought it would be better to assume that Trinity was some kind of spirit and leave it at that.

Meanwhile, Trinity was staring at the crystal lying on Terry’s desk. “So you’re saying...that I came out of that?”

Terry nodded. “Yeah. Trust me, I can’t believe it either.”

Trinity was mesmerized by the gemstone, her eyes following the countless sparks that had burst to life within the jewel. “It’s so, so pretty!”

She tried to touch it, only to frown as her hand passed through it. Then, she tried  waving her hand at objects, only to phase through those as well.

As Trinity pouted, Terry observed carefully and made mental notes. As bizarre as the situation was, it didn’t hurt to take the situation at face value and just make logical observations for now. Trinity didn’t seem to be able to interact with anything, which further proved that she was some kind of incorporeal spirit.

Trinity got bored and started running around the apartment, gleefully pointing at everything she could see and asking about it.

“What’s that?”

“My bed. I sleep on it.”

“Oh! Oh! What’s that?”

“A stove. I use it to cook.”

“And that? Oh, what about that?”

Terry was getting a bit frustrated. “Okay, be quiet. I’m thinking.”

Trinity shut up. “Ah...okay…”

She sat down on the floor and waited while Terry lost himself in his thoughts. What had just happened? What exactly _was_ Trinity? There were so many questions that he wasn’t sure if he could even get answered. Who would believe him if he told somebody what had just happened to him?

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Terry opened it to find a sharp-dressed man carrying an empty water bottle. “Hey, is this yours? I found it lying on a bench near the entrance, and it has your name on it.”

“Uh, yes.” Terry told him, gratefully taking it. “I must have forgotten it. Thanks for bringing it back for me. I probably would have forgotten about it otherwise.”

The man smiled. “No problem.”

Terry’s eyes widened as he noticed Trinity run up to them, skidding to a stop in front of the man. Before Terry could stop her, Trinity waved enthusiastically. “Hi! Who are you?”

The man didn’t respond to her question. He just said his goodbyes to Terry and turned to leave.

“Hey! C-can’t you see me? Come on!” Trinity yelped in alarm.

But the man was already gone.

Terry looked at Trinity in surprise as she hung her head. “Don’t leave…”

 _So, that guy couldn’t see her?_ Terry wondered. _Then how come I can?_

Trinity sat down dejectedly, and Terry couldn’t help but feel a bit bad for her. _She really wanted that guy to notice her, huh? Well...I can’t say that I wouldn’t feel any different if that happened to me._

Trinity sighed. “He...didn’t see me.”

“Hey, kid.” Terry offered. “If it makes you feel better, I can still see you.”

Apparently it did, because Trinity broke into a wide grin. “You can?”

“Uh, how would I be talking to you otherwise?”

The apparition laughed. “Oh, this is the best! Then you can talk to me, and make sure that I’m not lonely, and all of that stuff!”

“Uh, what? I didn’t sign up for-”

“You’re staying, right?” Trinity asked hopefully. “Please stay with me! I don’t want to be lonely…not again...”

That struck a nerve. With a start, Terry recalled a murky memory from his past, one where his younger self was becoming increasingly distraught over his parents’ constant absences. They would go missing for days or weeks at a time, leaving him to be taken care of by either his brother or a caretaker.

“You’re staying, right?” a younger Terry had desperately asked his parents one evening, right as they had returned from another absence. “Please stay with me! I don’t want to be lonely...not again…”

His father had just smiled sadly at him. “I hope so, son. I can only hope…”

Mere hours later, his parents had vanished again...and permanently this time.

Terry stared blankly into space. “Not...again?”

Trinity stared into his eyes like a lost puppy - and in that moment, Terry saw his younger self in her place, with the same look of desperate longing on his face. Sighing, he made his choice. Even if he had only known Trinity for a few minutes, he didn’t really have the heart to abandon the childlike spirit, especially if she wanted company.

“...Okay, Trinity. I’ll stick with you...for now, at least.“

Upon hearing this, Trinity laughed joyously. “Oh, thank you so much!”

Seeing how such a simple deed could make someone so happy, Terry couldn’t help but smile a bit. _Eh, I’m sure I can manage accompanying her for a bit. She deserves that much, at least. Everyone does..._

 

_The next day..._

“So, yeah.” Terry said as he finished his explanation. “That’s why there’s some weird spirit living at my place now.”

Trinity puffed up her cheeks. “Weird? I’m not weird!”

Terry shrugged. “You’re an incorporeal spirit that defies the laws of the world. I would say that’s pretty weird.”

The spirit just pouted in response. “Hmph!”

Sitting across from him, Terry’s friends gaped at his story. Jerry looked like someone had just slapped him, Olivia had her hands over her mouth, and Alberto looked like someone had just told him the meaning of life. However, none of them were laughing at him.

Terry sighed. “Well, you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to. Honestly, I can’t really believe it myself-”

“I believe you.” Jerry said plainly.

“I do too.” Olivia added.

“Me three.” Alberto told him.

Terry was stunned. “You...you do?”

“Terry, outside of jokes, you’ve never told us a lie before.” Jerry told him. “And if you were joking, it would be stupendously easy to see on your face. If you say this, and you’re being completely serious...then I have no reason to not believe you.”

“That’s...so weird, though.” Olivia added, still in disbelief. “So you’re saying that spirits do exist? That ghosts are real? Then what else could be real? Santa?”

“Wait…” Alberto said timidly. “Santa actually isn’t real?”

“Uh…” Olivia stammered as she realized what she had gotten herself into.

Terry shrugged. “I’ve got a ton of questions myself. And Trinity here can’t answer them. She barely remembers anything about her past, and I’m honestly not sure if she even has one to speak of. Also, she seems pretty...uh...”

Trinity perked up. “Cool? Nice? Adorable?”

“...childish, immature, not too smart, et cetera.”

Trinity waved her hands in protest, and Terry just rolled his eyes. “Also, Trinity, it’d be a good time to show yourself to them. You found that you could do it to that old lady on the bench, so you can do it now.”

“Uh...no!” Trinity yelped, ducking behind Terry and cowering. “I...I don’t really want to now!”

“Oh, come on.” Terry grumbled. “You had no trouble saying hi to the old lady this morning, how come you can’t say hi now?”

“Well, the old lady looked pretty nice…” Trinity offered.

“Are you saying my friends don’t look nice?”

Trinity didn’t answer, simply continuing to cower behind him.

Terry sighed, realizing how stupid he must have looked bickering to himself. “Uh, she’s suddenly gotten really shy, so maybe next time. God damn it.”

“It’s okay, Terry.” Olivia offered.

Terry sighed again, taking the mysterious crystal out of his pocket. “So, what do I do with this? I could honestly dispose of it, but I kind of told her that I wouldn’t.”

Seeing the crystal in Terry’s hands, Alberto gasped. “That…!”

Terry looked at him quizzically. “What is it?”

“I...no, it’s nothing.” Alberto said quietly, shifting uncomfortably.

Terry frowned at this odd response, only for Jerry to change the subject. “Well, I think you should keep it. It must be kind of depressing to live all by yourself, after all. Maybe living with someone else could liven up your life a bit. Even if that someone is an incorporeal entity with the mind of a small child. It’d be a good opportunity to learn more from each other. You can learn more from her nature and maybe decipher some of the secrets to her existence. As for her, she doesn’t seem to know a lot yet - you could be the teacher that she needs.”

Terry thought about that. Then, as he agreed, he smiled a bit.

“Yeah...you’re right. Living with a spirit would actually be pretty neat. It’d definitely be nice to have some company for once. I mean...what’s the worst that could happen?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Considering that this thing has about 27 pages of planner to its name, I really I hope that it actually helps with the writing.
> 
> Not bothering with surnames this time, I figured that they were more trouble than they were worth.
> 
> Also, concerning the time period, the story takes place in the not-so-close future, about the time that _Fractured Miracle_ would take place.


	2. Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bunch of random slice of life elements for now. I feel like the character dynamic between Terry and Trinity has been used by basically everyone now, but I still like it.

It was a bright Sunday morning. As the sound of sizzling bacon filled the air, Terry yawned and rubbed his eyes while he cooked. Over the course of his solitary life, Terry had made so many different things for breakfast that he had started looking for more feasible options. But the classic bacon and egg breakfast was still a favorite for him.

He checked the clock. It had been about two minutes since he had started cooking. Which meant that in a few seconds, his roommate was due to come barreling in.

Sure enough, it was only a couple of seconds before a pale shape shot straight through a nearby wall, hovering to a stop next to Terry. Practically bouncing in place, Trinity’s eyes practically glowed with excitement. “Terry! Terry! What are you making today?”

Terry groaned. “Trinity, quiet down for all of ten seconds. I just woke up.”

The inquisitive spirit tilted her head. “But you’re making something different today. What is that?”

Terry managed a small smile. “Bacon and eggs. It’s a staple breakfast, and a good one too. It never gets old for me.”

Trinity inhaled as a glimmer surfaced in her eyes. “I feel...something. It’s like something is in my nose…”

Terry nodded as he transferred his bacon and eggs to a plate. “Did you just become able to smell things? That’s a good sign, considering how you kept going on about how you were numb when you first showed up. It seems that you’re becoming more sensitive to the world.”

The spirit kept taking deep breaths. “Smell…you said that was one of the five senses, right?”

“Yes. Sight, smell, touch, taste, and hearing. Right now, you’re just missing touch and taste. And they’re improving by the day.”

Trinity shrugged. “Well, I really like it. Your food smells good!”

As Terry ate with Trinity watching him curiously, he reflected on the recent events in his life. It had been just over a week since he had met Trinity, the peculiar apparition that had emerged from that strange crystal he had picked up. Now, he was living with Trinity, doing what he could to take care of her and educate her about the world - but although she didn’t need to do things like eat or drink, it had still proven to be harder than it looked. Not only did Trinity have a borderline infantile knowledge of the world, she also had limitless energy and the curiosity to match. This wasn’t the most ideal match for the more stoic, quiet Terry. It was now virtually impossible to get any peace of mind.

The first couple of days were the most chaotic, with Terry having to teach Trinity the basics of what she could and couldn’t do in his home. Even if she couldn’t interact with the world, limits still had to be set. Trinity was following those limits reasonably well, but her incessant curiosity hadn’t subsided. Terry knew that said curiosity was a good thing, but it still got on his nerves.

Trinity got bored again. “Now that I can smell things, I can do so much more. I wonder what all the things here smell like?”

Terry frowned. “Hey. No smelling anything without my permission.”

“...Okay. Well, can I smell that bottle over there?”

“...That’s cleaning fluid. For your own sake, no.”

“Oh! Can I smell _you?"_

“Absolutely not.”

Trinity pouted. “Then what else is there?”

Terry pointed at the door to the balcony. “Go get some fresh air.”

Trinity nodded. “Okay!”

As the childish spirit ran through the door to breathe in the morning air, Terry just put his head in his hands. If this was what raising a child was like, Terry was starting to feel bad for the parents. Couldn’t Trinity be a little...calmer?

However, he allowed himself a small smile. Despite everything, what Jerry had said was right. Teaching this mysterious child had made his life was more interesting than he ever remembered it. And while he wouldn’t show it, he appreciated this respite in his otherwise monotonous routine.

Trinity ran back inside. “The air smelled nice!”

Terry wondered if there were any chemicals that were floating about, but decided not to mention it. “Good to hear.”

To be totally honest, Terry wasn’t sure if he was even cut out to be a parental figure of sorts, or even a sibling figure. But things were what they were, and he was still determined to try his best at the very least.

 

_Half an hour later…_

“Hey, Terry! What’re you doing?”

Terry sighed. “Trinity, leave me alone. I’m doing my homework.”

“Home...work.” Trinity repeated. “That’s just work you do at home, right? From school?”

“Yeah, and I’m not a fan. So kindly quiet down so I can focus.”

“Oh…” she said in a small voice.

Terry had barely gone through ten minutes of silent work when Trinity piped up again. “Hey, maybe I could help you?”

“...Trinity, I don’t think you’re cut out for this. This is high school optics.”

Trinity laughed. “We’ll just see about that!”

As Terry shook his head, Trinity pointed at some of the shapes that Terry was drawing. “So, you want to get that beam to the end of this maze, right?”

“...That’s actually right. Nice job.”

Trinity smiled proudly. “Those things bounce the beam, right? Then, why can’t you put this thing there?”

Terry sighed. “I can’t put mirrors or lenses inside walls, Trinity.”

“Hmm...then can you just cover everything with these mirrors?”

“I have a limited number of mirrors, Trinity.”

Trinity’s smile was wavering. “Uh...but why can’t you just aim the mirrors at each other and get to the end? What’s the big problem?”

“The problem,” Terry said exasperatedly, “is that these light rays don’t just bounce off of mirrors whichever way you want. You have to do a lot of math and measurement. It’s not as easy as it looks, Trinity.”

Trinity shook her head dejectedly. “...I’m all out of tips, then.”

“Okay. Now just quiet down and let me work.

 

_An hour later…_

Trinity breathed in the fresh air as Terry put his hands in his jacket pockets to warm them up. Since it was Sunday, Terry had to go work at the nearby convenience store. Since he lived alone, it was important for him to have a job, for both disciplinary and monetary purposes.

“There are so many people out here...” Trinity breathed, marveling at the busy urban landscape. “It’s really cool.”

“Well, this is the first time I’ve taken you to the more busy parts of the city.” Terry told her. “I did tell you that this place was busy.”

Trinity pointed at the passing traffic. “There are more things on the road! Not just those cars that you told me about!”

“Well, this is a busy city, so there are more types of transportation here.” Terry explained. “There are buses, trams, bikes, even trains above and below. To be fair, compared to some other cities I’ve heard of, the tech is a lot less advanced. We’ve mostly stuck with more traditional transport, but we’ve still done away with things like carbon dioxide emissions.”

Trinity was puzzled. “What are those?”

“I don’t want to explain it now. Maybe another time.”

And with that, Terry turned right and walked into the convenience store, Trinity in tow. One of the employees noticed him and waved. “Hey, Terry! How’s it going?”

“Eh, life is good.”

The older man tilted his head. “Hey, I heard you talking to someone outside. Did you bring someone here?”

“Ah, I…” Terry trailed off, racking his mind for a way to obfuscate the truth. “I just found out that you can use your voice to send texts to people. I was trying it out.”

“Ah, I see.” the man told him. “Well, have fun. We don’t seem to have a lot of customers today, so you might get an easier job.”

“...Good to hear.”

Trinity smiled. “He seems nice!”

Terry looked around to see if anyone was watching, then raised his inactive phone to his ear. “Well, he is. Also, Trinity, I’m starting work now, so I’d appreciate it if you stayed invisible and tried to stay out of this. You can watch me and the customers, but try not to mess around too much. I’ll have to pretend that I’m on the phone to even talk to you without looking like a lunatic.”

Trinity frowned a bit, but nodded. “Okay...”

And with that, Terry stood behind the cashier and began work. Just as his colleague had said, there weren’t too many customers on that day. Still, Terry tried his best to help out, answering their questions and completing their purchases swiftly.

For the first twenty minutes of his work, Trinity complied with his directions and just floated around, silently observing what was happening. But after that, she couldn’t help it anymore. “Terry, do you get to keep what you make here?”

Terry sighed, lifting his phone to his ear. “No. I get paid later.”

“Oh!”

The boy got back to work, helping an elderly couple purchase a six-pack of water bottles. Trinity observed the water and pointed at the label. “What does it mean when it says that the water is pure?”

Terry thanked the couple and raised his phone again. “Pure means free of impurities. For example, the water can be pure if it has no dirt or contaminants in it. Now be quiet, there are more people here and I need to work.”

Trinity shut up for a moment and let Terry keep working in peace. However, her gaze was drawn towards the cup of instant noodles that a young woman was now buying. “Terry? What are those?”

Terry ignored her. This particular customer was a curious one who was asking Terry for his personal opinions on a great many of the products that she was buying. Terry wasn’t used to this, and was struggling a bit.

However, Trinity wasn’t about to take no for an answer. “Terry? Terry! What is that? Come on, I wanna know!”

Terry kept ignoring her, but his patience was already wearing thin.

Finally, Trinity got up in his face and waved at him like he was blind. “Hello?”

At that point, Terry could barely contain his frustration. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let out an exasperated sigh.

The customer was a bit unsettled. “Um...is something wrong?”

With difficulty, Terry regained his composure, forcing himself to ignore the waving spirit in front of him. “It’s nothing. I’m fine. Now, what were you asking about?”

The customer was a bit baffled, but resumed asking her questions. Once she had bought her items and left, Terry realized that there was nobody left in the store. He put his head in his hands and sighed. _That was a close one._

All was silent for a couple moments. Then Trinity, apparently not noticing the frustration radiating from Terry, piped up. “...So, what was that?”

Terry gave her a glare that could have scorched lead, and Trinity shrank into the corner. “Eep! I’m sorry!”

As Trinity started to phase through the walls in her attempt to back further into the corner, Terry sighed exasperatedly, lowering the intensity of his gaze from “pure death” to “disappointed disapproval”. _Is it actually that scary when I glare at people like that, or is Trinity just that timid?_

“...Listen, Trinity, I’m sorry if I scared you.” Terry offered. “But when I ask you to do something, I really do mean it. I was busy and wanted to be left alone. Sometimes, if they want it, you really do just have to leave people alone.”

Trinity nodded, apparently still a bit shaken. “...I understand.”

Terry’s expression softened a bit as he calmed down. “I’m not saying that you should necessarily follow every single thing you’re told. But you’re not the only person that exists. It’s wise to consider the interests of others before you act out on your own.”

“That makes sense.” Trinity said slowly. “Before, you told me how important rules were, right? Is this kind of like the same thing?”

“In a way, yes.” Terry replied simply.

Trinity nodded. “I see.”

Terry stretched out and prepared for work as he saw another customer prepare to enter. “Also, those products from before were cup noodles. Good for quick-fix meals. They don’t taste too good, but they cook fast and are easy to make.”

Trinity smiled happily. “Oh, okay! Thank you for telling me!”

The rest of Terry’s shift went smoothly. Trinity did as she was told and followed Terry’s directions, only speaking out when she had to. And before long, another employee took Terry’s place, and he was off.

 

_Half an hour later…_

Terry silently surveyed the row of bananas, eventually finding one that was ripened to his liking and adding it to his bag. Checking his phone again, he checked bananas off his grocery list and moved on to the milk aisle. He grabbed the nearest carton of milk, checked its expiry date, and put it into his bag.

Noticing some packs of feta cheese nearby, he motioned to the spirit floating silently beside him. “Hey, do you think this would be good?”

Trinity, amazed by how big and diverse the supermarket was, just shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not like I can taste it or anything. But what’s the worst that could happen if you bought it?”

“Well…” Terry began, “For starts, if it’s not eaten fast enough, it’ll smell really bad. As in _evacuation level_ bad.”

Trinity frowned. “That wouldn’t be good.”

Terry nodded. “Tell you what. When you start being able to taste things, maybe you can try it out.”

“That’d be nice.” Trinity said. “Can we go somewhere else? It’s a bit cold.”

Terry nodded. “Sure. We’re done with this section anyways, and it is kind of chilly here…”

He trailed off. “Wait...did you just say it was cold? When did you become able to distinguish differences in temperature?”

“I…” Trinity stammered. “I don’t know. Did I just get that?”

Terry noticed a worker manning a free samples booth and motioned for Trinity to come over. Sure enough, when she neared the boiling kettle, she shivered a bit as another glimmer of light surfaced in her eyes. “It’s...different.”

Terry pondered this. “Hmm. Well, we’ll just have to see what happens. Just let me finish up my shopping, and we can go home.”

“...Okay.” Trinity replied, although she was still visibly shaken.

 

_Ten minutes later…_

Snow gently drifted down from above as the sunset illuminated the cloudy sky. Terry trudged through the snowy grass of the park, while Trinity floated behind him.

The young spirit held out her hand, attempting to catch snowflakes despite them phasing through her. “So this is snow? It’s so pretty!”

“The first time someone sees snow is truly something to remember.” Terry told her. “I still remember the first time I saw snow, and that was so long ago.”

Trinity smiled happily and leapt about in the snow, while Terry watched on. Something he found odd was that Trinity was thoroughly enjoying playing in the snow, despite not actually being able to touch or otherwise interact with it. She seemed to be happy because of the snow’s mere existence, which was a level of optimism that Terry respected, but didn’t envy. This kind of naive optimism wasn’t the most ideal trait to have if one planned to prosper in life.

However, Trinity spotted a group of kids building a snowman together. She floated over to them and carefully observed them, her eyes full of wonder. Then she reached out to them, only to retract her hand and shake her head. She floated back to Terry, who gave her a quizzical look. “Why did you suddenly stop like that?”

Trinity looked back at them. “Well…you told me that even if they can’t see, hear, or feel me, I shouldn’t mess with others. Right?”

 _Wait, she’s actually following my advice?_ Terry thought, before clearing his throat. “Um...yes. That’s right.”

As the kids’ parents ran up to them to talk, Trinity tilted her head and stared wistfully. “They look like they’re having a lot of fun…”

“...Yeah.”

Trinity looked at him. “Hey, Terry...do you think I’ll ever be able to play like that?”

Terry shrugged. “I’m sure you’ll get around to it. Soon, you’ll probably be able to touch to touch things, just like those people.”

“Really?”

“...No guarantees, but for your sake, I hope so.”

Trinity smiled. “Thanks!”

“...Okay.”

As they kept walking, another glimmer surfaced in Trinity’s eyes. Then, she hugged herself and shivered. “W-what is this? I feel all...cold.”

Terry’s eyes widened. “So you’ve really gotten the ability to feel sensations? Even if nothing can actually touch your body? That’s interesting...and welcome, for you. But being able to feel means that you’ll have to accept the good feelings with the bad. For your sake, I hope you’re ready for that.”

“So this is what it’s like to feel…” Trinity muttered. “Well, I don’t like this cold! Terry, how do I get rid of it?”

Terry just raised his hands in a “no idea” gesture. “Go somewhere warm? Well, we aren’t getting home until about ten minutes later, so you’re just going to have to deal with it.”

“Aww! Can’t you do something about it?” Trinity complained.

Terry sighed, exhaling a cloud of vapor. “Trinity, what do you expect me to do? For one thing, you’re intangible.”

However, something in Terry’s mind clicked. “...Hold on. Actually, I want to try something with your crystal. Do you mind?”

“Nope!”

A bit surprised at how hasty her answer was, Terry took the pale gemstone out of his jacket pocket. Even though nothing was certain yet, it was obvious that the peculiar gem was linked to Trinity somehow. They had found out the other day that Trinity couldn’t even stray too far from the crystal - once she had gone about a hundred meters from it, she would kind of...collapse on the spot. If that wasn’t a sign of a link, then Terry didn’t know what was.

However, he had a rising suspicion in his mind - that the crystal might be linked to her in a more _direct_ way. Rubbing his hands together to warm them, he cupped them around the crystal. As he felt the ice-cold stone warm up, Trinity shuddered and seemed to relax. “It’s getting warmer…I feel comfier.”

Terry was surprised. “Wait, that actually worked? So any effects on this thing will affect you too?”

Trinity just nodded. “That’s what it seems like.”

Terry pondered that. “Hmm...that’s interesting.”

Beside him, Trinity was unconcerned. “Ahh...this feels nice, though. I’m so warm now.”

Upon hearing this, Terry uncovered the jewel, causing Trinity to stiffen as if she had hit a wall. As he put the crystal back into his pocket, Trinity gave him a look of aghast confusion. “What? What was that for? I was warm!”

“Trinity, you’re not going to be comfortable all the time.” Terry told her matter-of-factly. “If you don’t learn how to deal with something as minor as cold, then you won’t have the resilience to deal with anything else the world has in store. You’re going to have to just deal with the cold for now.”

Trinity sputtered incoherently and waved her hands wildly in protest, but Terry was adamant about how he wanted to teach her this lesson. He just continued walking home, ignoring the shivering, huffing spirit following closely behind him.

Fortunately for Trinity, the sun soon came out and bathed the snow in its light. Trinity felt the rays warming her incorporeal body and smiled at this small respite from the cold.

 

_Several hours later…_

Terry turned off his nightstand light and stretched out on his bed. Tomorrow was another busy school day, and he was determined to get some rest. He was firmly opposed to letting Trinity sleep in his room, so Trinity slept on the living room couch while Terry kept her crystal on his table. To be honest, he didn’t know how Trinity slept well, considering that she couldn’t even use a bed properly, but he supposed that even overly-energetic spirits could still get tired. Also, she was insistent on going to sleep every night, since it was something that normal people would do. And since she was learning to live like a normal person, she would have to sleep like one.

However, considering that there was a thunderstorm raging outside, Terry had a suspicion that getting a good rest was out of the question. Not because of the storm itself, but rather because of how his roommate would react to the storm.

Sure enough, there was a another flash of lightning from outside, followed by a booming crack of thunder. Almost immediately, there was a yelp from the living room.

Terry just closed his eyes and tried to get to sleep. However, it wasn’t long before a pale blue glow prompted his eyes to open in annoyance. Sure enough, Trinity was standing beside the door to his room, glowing faintly in the dark. Her face was tight with terror.

“Trinity...why are you here?” Terry asked, internally knowing the answer.

“...The thunder is scary. I’m scared…”

Terry sighed. “Trinity, I’m trying to sleep.”

“But...but…how am I supposed to sleep with this thunder? It’s so loud!”

He sighed again. “Trinity, if you’re going to be scared of something, be scared of the lightning. Thunder is just a noise. Lightning can actually hit you and kill you.”

Terry realized how bad his attempt at reassurance was, but Trinity just tilted her head. “Lightning? Can that hurt me?”

“To be honest, I don’t know. You’re kind of...well, not in the physical world. Honestly, I think it’s more likely to hit and kill _me_ than it is to hurt you.”

Apparently that just scared Trinity more, because her eyes widened. “D-don’t say that! What would I do if you were hit by lightning?”

Terry turned over. “Okay, whatever. Just-”

“Can...can I sleep in your room? Just for today? Please?”

“Uh, why? It’s not like I can block sound, and I won’t be any good if lightning hits the place.”

Trinity seemed to be struggling to find an answer to that. “Just...I think I’ll feel safer that way...”

The boy took a deep breath and exhaled, causing Trinity to hang her head in dismay. However, Terry decided to relent this time around. “Okay, fine. Just be quiet.”

Relief washed over Trinity’s face. “Oh, thank you!”

So with that, Trinity laid down on the floor and closed her eyes. Terry rolled over in his bed and did the same, hopeful that he might actually be able to get a good night’s sleep.

However, before that, Trinity decided to ask one more question. “Terry?”

“...What is it?”

“...Do you think I belong in this world?”

Terry was surprised by the question. “Whoa, why are you so sentimental all of a sudden?”

Trinity stared at the ceiling listlessly, her eyes filled with a kind of wistful wonder. “...I don’t know. I haven’t spent long here, but seeing all these people...makes me feel so _different._ I’m not like a normal person, and I’m not like any of those animals you told me about. So...am I even supposed to be here?”

Terry racked his mind for the best answer to her question. “I suppose that your concern is kind of justified. Well, if you’re asking me...then...nobody can tell you that. Whether or not you belong here is something only you can tell yourself. So, tell me - do you want to belong here or not?”

Trinity thought about it. “Well...I want to belong here.”

Terry nodded. “That’s settled, then. If you want to belong in the world, then you can try to make yourself belong. And eventually, you’ll really belong here.”

He was mostly just making stuff up, but that was really all he could do for such an open-ended question. However, that was apparently enough for Trinity, who yawned and closed her eyes again. “Alright. Thanks, Terry…”

And with that, Trinity finally fell silent, letting Terry get the sleep he so desperately wanted. But even in his sleep, his mind processed the question Trinity had asked.

_Well...I can’t say that I haven’t asked that same question at least once…_

 

_The next day…_

Jerry, Olivia, and Alberto sat with their mouths agape as Trinity shimmered into existence before them. The spirit spread her hands as a welcoming gesture. “Hi! I’m sure Terry has told you about me, but I’m Trinity! Glad to meet you all!”

The three teens were in stunned silence. Noticing this, Trinity’s smile began to fade. “Terry? Did I do something wrong?”

“No, no.” Terry reassured her. “Your greeting was fine. This is just a normal response.”

Slowly, his friends came to their senses. They stared at the floating, glowing child with awestruck expressions.

“Whoa.” Jerry breathed. “I never doubted Terry when he told us about you, but for you to actually appear before us? That’s something else entirely!”

Trinity smiled. “Sorry if you were expecting me to show myself earlier. Terry spent a while trying to convince me.”

Terry nodded. “For how incessantly energetic she is, she can be pretty shy at times.”

The spirit shook her head, but the embarrassed smile on her face betrayed her.

Alberto rubbed his eyes. “So you’re Trinity? I know Terry said you looked like a little kid, but you’re still shorter than I imagined.”

“Yes, I’m Trinity!” Trinity said cheerily. Then her mind processed the second part of what Alberto had said. “Hey!”

Alberto laughed as Trinity silently fumed. However, Olivia chose that moment to speak up. “Aww, you’re so cute!”

Trinity was taken aback. “W-what? You really...”

“Yes!” Olivia said happily, reaching out to pat her on the top of her incorporeal head. “I would hug you if I could!”

“H-hey!” Trinity said, laughing at the peculiar sensation. “That tickles!”

Terry gave Olivia a strange look that screamed “we’re in a public cafeteria”, and she stopped. “Sorry.”

“So, it’s been a week.” Jerry began, “How’s it like living together?”

Trinity smiled. “Oh, it’s nice! Terry’s nice, and he teaches me stuff!”

Terry pondered that. “It’s interesting. Trinity’s annoying at times, but she’s tolerable. It’s a new experience, though.”

Trinity puffed out her cheeks at this insult. “Hey!”

Olivia laughed, patting Trinity on the head again. “If Terry’s been as blunt towards you as he is towards literally everyone, then I feel a bit sorry for you.”

Now it was Terry’s turn to be insulted. “Hey! Well...you have a point.”

Jerry just shrugged. “Well, if you’re teaching someone, you’ve got to be strict to some degree.”

“Yeah!” Trinity agreed, much to his surprise. “Terry says I won’t learn anything otherwise! So, I’m fine with that!”

Jerry just smiled. “Aw, you’re such a good kid. Terry, you seem to be teaching her well so far!”

Terry shrugged. “I have no idea what I’m doing. I’m just doing what I feel like would teach her well. I’m not cut out to be a sibling figure, and especially not a parental one.”

“Well, you seem to have already achieved that.” Alberto told him. “Whether you like it or not, Trinity seems fairly attached to you now.”

“Well, that’s kind of fair.” Terry replied. “She can’t stay by herself. I left her at home once, and when I got back she was practically catatonic.”

“Well, it’s all good!” Olivia told him. “Trinity gets to stay with somebody who can teach her about the world, and you finally get to live with someone else. What’s not to love?”

Terry shook his head. “...I don’t necessarily _want_ to live with someone else.”

Olivia frowned. “Hey, don’t be like that. We all know that you’re probably lonely, living by yourself like that! It’s normal! We’re social beings!”

Terry put his face in his hands, in a rare display of abashed denial. “...No.”

Olivia realized that she had maybe gone too far and shut up for a bit. Seeing Terry behaving like that, Trinity tilted her head quizzically.

Alberto finished his lunch, cleared his throat, and changed the subject. “So, uh, how did you guys do on your math test? I heard that it was really hard.”

Olivia smiled. “It went fairly well.”

Jerry sighed. “Not exceptionally well.”

Olivia frowned again. “Jerry, your standards are way higher than any of ours. “Not exceptionally well” for you is probably pretty good for us.”

“Well, that’s true.” Jerry said. “But my parents are still probably going to kill me.”

“Oh, come on!” Olivia exclaimed. “Knowing how well you do on literally everything we’re given, I’m sure they’ll be fine. Loosen up a bit!”

“...Evidently you haven’t met my parents.”

Olivia was a bit disconcerted by his reply, but kept going. “Hey, guys, I’m free today. Wanna go somewhere?”

Alberto just stared at her. “How are you free? Everyone’s loaded down with tests this week. Don’t you have to study?”

“Yeah, Olivia.” Jerry told her. “Don’t you feel any pressure at all?”

“Uh…” Olivia said, her voice trailing off. “Well, I’m abnormally good at cramming right before tests, so I think I’ll be fine!”

Jerry laid his face on the table, evidently a bit depressed. “God, I wish it were that easy…”

The three of them looked at Trinity, who was staring at them with a concerned expression on her face. The three of them looked at each other and silently agreed to stop the conversation for now, if only to make the ghostly child a little less uneasy.

Meanwhile, Terry had ignored the whole thing, having been playing a bullet-hell game on his computer.

Before long, the bell rang, and everyone said their goodbyes and left. However, Alberto stayed behind and went up to Terry. “Hey, Terry?”

“What is it?”

Alberto shuffled nervously. “Well, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to say this before, but I figured that it’d probably be worth it. You know Trinity, right?”

Terry pointed to her, caught in the act of trying and failing to steal Alberto’s granola bars. “Yeah. She’s right there...and trying to take your food.”

Alberto ignored her, even as Trinity made a strangled squeaking sound and returned to Terry’s side. “Well, I’ve got a bit of a secret to tell you. I might actually know where you can find more information about her.”

Terry’s eyes widened. “This is news. Where is it?”

“It’s a research company in the city called Vivid Clarity.” Alberto told him. “They do a lot of miscellaneous research, mostly of the mechanical and chemical type. But there have been rumors that they had also been dealing with more...unorthodox types of research. Apparently they’ve been investigated into for a while, but nobody could find anything.”

While Trinity seemed interested, Terry was a bit skeptical. “So you’re telling us to go there based on nothing but a random rumor?”

Alberto coughed awkwardly. “Uh...yes. I thought that if there was anywhere you could go, then you could go there.”

Trinity looked at Terry, who shrugged. Both of them really wanted to know more about Trinity’s true nature, so a visit to some place nearby couldn’t hurt.

Terry turned back towards him. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot. Where is it?”

“I’ll send you the location once I get home, my phone is almost out of battery.” Alberto told him. “You can take a train there, if I recall.”

“That’s good.” Terry replied. “I’ll see if I can go there tomorrow. I’ve got to study today.”

Alberto nodded, before taking his leave.

Trinity just gave Terry another inquisitive look. He had no idea if that “Vivid Clarity” place would have any clues about such an unreal phenomenon, but he was totally lost otherwise. Regardless if it worked or not, it was probably worth a shot.

“Alright, Trinity.” Terry told her. “How about we go on another trip tomorrow?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, this planner is old. I still remember doing the optics unit...
> 
> Also, the only reason I mentioned feta cheese at all was because my friend was telling me about a particular incident he had with it.


	3. Discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obligatory exposition chapter. This one took a surprisingly short time to do, considering that I had forgotten nearly everything that was supposed to happen here.

_“Line 3-E, departing to North Peak Terminus, is arriving in two minutes. Please let passengers exit first, and board the train in an orderly fashion.”_

Trinity smiled as the automated voice repeated its lines. “They sound nice!”

Terry shook his head. “That voice has been pre-programmed.”

Trinity wanted to complain, but simply shivered and tried hugging herself to warm up. Terry noticed this, and wrapped Trinity’s crystal in his scarf, making the spirit relax a bit.

Terry had just gotten dismissed from school, and after a narrow encounter with Mark’s goon squad he had finally reached his school’s train station. Although he usually walked home, Terry appreciated how widespread his city’s transit system was. It was almost like it could connect any two points in the city.

Soon, Terry spotted the lights of of the incoming train. Suspended by magnetic levitation, the sleek silver-and-green vehicle’s signature high-pitched whine petered out as it slowed down. Intrigued, Trinity tried to touch the moving train, only for Terry to shoot her a look that made her retract her hand.

The doors slid open, and a stream of commuters poured out. For how many people there were on the train, it took a surprisingly short time for them to disembark. Soon, Terry had entered and found a seat - and just in time, too, as the remaining seats were quickly taken up by weary students just like himself.

As the train left the station and picked up speed, Trinity stared curiously out the window, taking in the rapidly changing scene from above the city. This was her first time on a train, and she was ecstatic at the new experience. “Terry, how does this train work? Terry, where is it going? Terry, how fast is it moving?”

Terry kept his voice low. “Magnetic levitation keeps it hovering and moving, but I’m not sure about the rest. It’s bound for a terminus at North Peak, but we’re getting off one stop after Central Terminus and walking the rest of the way. As for how fast it moves, we took a fairly stop-free line, so I’m guessing...maybe about 100 kilometers per hour?”

Trinity continued looking out the window. “Well, I like it. The train feels nice.”

The two of them fell silent and relaxed as the train sped towards its destination. Before they knew it, they had reached their stop and disembarked.

Once they were on the busy streets again, Terry pulled out his phone and took a look at the directions Alberto had given him. After navigating through the streets while giving Trinity a lecture on how she had almost gotten hit by a car, he arrived at his destination - a steel-and-glass office tower that really didn’t look too different from the buildings nearby. However, Terry had noted that it had been built near the corner of civilization - everything behind it was forest.

He stared at it. At the top of the building, a strange symbol was inscribed into the metal and illuminated with bright lights. That was probably the company’s logo - a silver, upside-down triangle encased inside a larger one, this one with each edge colored red, blue, and green respectively.

Trinity tilted her head. “This place looks cool!”

“Well, you say everything looks cool.” Terry told her.

The spirit smiled abashedly. “True.”

Pushing open the glass doors, the two of them looked around. The place seemed like a fairly normal reception area, with a couch, a table, and some flower pots for decoration. At the front desk, a man in semi-formal clothing greeted them. “Welcome. How may I help you?”

Terry replied as Trinity observed him carefully. “I’m not sure if you need an appointment or something, but my friend told me that I could find a guy named Vincent here. I have some questions I want to ask him.”

The man smiled. “Oh, Vincent? He’s our CEO. I think he’s available today, let me see if I can call him over.”

 _The CEO?_ Terry thought. _Alberto never told me about that!_

Trinity tilted her head. “What’s a CEO?”

Terry gave her a “not now” look as the receptionist muttered to someone through a telephone. Then, he turned towards Terry and nodded. “You’re in luck. He’s available today, so he can answer whatever you need. He’ll be down here in about a minute.”

As the receptionist turned towards his computer and got to work, Terry anticipated Vincent’s arrival. Even though he wasn’t one to bother with personal appearance much, he still felt an urge to straighten himself out. This was the CEO of a large research company he was about to talk to. Maybe he should look a bit neater.

However, before he could make a decision, the door to the stairs slammed open. Panting in the doorway was a tall, bespectacled man wearing a formal black suit and tie. While his short, dark hair had evidently been neatly done beforehand, it seemed to have suffered at least a bit of physical trauma. Clutched in his hand was what appeared to be a juice box.

“The...elevator...was busy as hell today…” the man breathed. “Decided to just...run down the stairs…took the juice with me too...”

The receptionist snorted. “Well, at least it’s good exercise. You didn’t have to come _that_ quickly, Vincent.”

“It’s not every day someone comes to ask me something! I wanted to be there ASAP!”

Terry was a bit stunned. _So, this is Vincent? The CEO of Vivid Clarity?_

Vincent ran his hands through his hair and adjusted his glasses as he regained his composure. Looking at Terry, he gave him an affable grin. “Well, hello there! Who might you be?”

Terry got over his mild disbelief and cleared his throat. “Um, my name is Terry. A friend of mine told me that I could get some questions answered here.”

Vincent’s smile changed to a quizzical frown. “Well, I’m not always the best at answering questions. But I’m free today, so I guess there’s no harm in trying.” He motioned to the hallway. “Why don’t we go somewhere to take a seat?”

Terry nodded. “Okay.”

So, the two of them walked out of the reception room and into the hallway, as Trinity invisibly hurried behind them. As they walked, Vincent threw his juice box into a nearby recycling unit and gave Terry an inquisitive look. “So, young man, I’m quite intrigued as to why you decided to come here of all places to get a question answered. Pardon me if I’m being blunt, but we’re a research company, not a counselling service. What is it that you need solving?”

“Well, you see...it’s a bit of an odd problem.” Terry said. “Should I give you the long version or the short one?”

“Hey!” Trinity protested. “Since when was I a _problem?”_

Vincent, however, just nodded. “A concise version would be appreciated.”

“Well, some weird spirit appeared in my house one day. They have no memories, a childlike mindset, and don’t seem to be properly attached to the world. I’ve been living with them and teaching them about the world, but I still have no idea what the hell they are. And I was told that you were the only one who knew how to help me.”

Vincent stared at him. “What.”

Terry looked behind him. “Trinity, it’d be a good time to show yourself to him.”

With a flash of light, Trinity shimmered into existence before Vincent, causing him to flinch in alarm. Unperturbed by his reaction, Trinity gave him a beaming smile. “Hi! I’m Trinity! It’s nice to meet you!”

Vincent looked like he was choking on something. “W-what?”

“Yeah.” Terry told him. “Really strange, huh?”

“You…” Vincent muttered, regaining his composure. “You’re Trinity?”

Trinity smiled again, as if proud of her name. “Yes, I’m Trinity!”

As Terry stared at him curiously, Vincent coughed. “How...did this happen? Where did you find her core crystal?”

Terry was quick to reply. “I found it in the park...wait. How do you know about that?”

Vincent wiped his brow. “This has already turned out to be quite a day, hasn’t it? You were right to come here. It looks like I’ve got a lot of explaining on my hands. Good grief.”

Noticing Terry and Trinity’s dumbfounded expressions, he motioned towards a nearby meeting room. “Come. Let’s sit down and get comfortable. Then we can talk.”

 

_A couple minutes of explaining later…_

Terry’s jaw dropped. “Wait, you’re saying that you _made_ her?”

Vincent laughed. “That’s one way to put it. If I told this to anyone else, I’d probably be sent to some kind of therapy. But since you’ve seen it for your own eyes, I can tell it to you - magic and the supernatural _do_ exist. It’s not a fairy tale.”

“...Well, you’re right. It’s still hard to believe.” Terry said slowly.

“That’s understandable.” Vincent said. “It took me a very long time to wrap my head around it myself. But I’ve been witnessing it for myself, and I can say with absolute certainty that it _is_ real.”

Trinity didn’t seem to realize that magic _wasn’t_ supposed to be real, so she wasn’t nearly as surprised. However, she was still stunned for a different reason. “Wait...so you guys _created_ me?”

“Yes, we did.”

Trinity stammered nervously before settling for putting her hands together and lowering her head in a display of reverence. “T-thank you for bringing me into this world!”

“Whoa there, no need to be so respectful.” Vincent said sheepishly. “I’m sorry if it offends you, but you were really a by-product of our numerous experiments. Nothing special.”

“What I don’t understand is why you need to research about this kind of stuff.” Terry inquired. “Like, it’s one thing that magic exists, but it’s another to be extensively looking into it.”

At this, Vincent’s expression became a little uncomfortable. “...Would it be too much to say that we’re trying to keep as much of this confidential as possible? We don’t really want people knowing about this...especially when we haven’t really gotten any real results with it.”

Terry was a but suspicious, but nodded. “That’s understandable. Don’t worry, me and Trinity won’t say a thing.”

“I won’t say anything! I promise!” Trinity agreed.

“That’s good to hear.” Vincent said, regaining his affable smile. “Well, it seems that you want an explanation for what Trinity here is. I’ll see what I can do.”

Terry nodded. “That’d be great.”

“Well, for starts, she’s what we’ve been calling a spirit for convenience’s sake.” Vincent began. “She may look like it, but she’s not alive. If I recall properly, she died some time ago. I'm not exactly sure about the circumstances of her demise, but I highly doubt that they were pleasant.”

Trinity was aghast. “What? I’m...not alive?”

Vincent nodded. “She’s kind of like a classical depiction of a ghost, if you will - a deceased person, revived with a new body through magical means. I’m not going to go into exactly how we pulled it off, but I’m pretty surprised that it actually worked. We were working off of nothing but instinct.”

Terry couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “Heh, that’s understandable. I do that a lot at school.”

Vincent seemed to remember something. “Say, I’m a bit curious. Who was it that told you to come here? I assume that you’ve found out that Trinity is invisible to most, and that you’ve only had Trinity reveal herself to trusted individuals.”

“Yes, that’s true.” Terry replied. “It was my friend, Alberto.”

Suddenly, Vincent burst out laughing.

Trinity stared in confusion as Terry gave the older man a strange look. “Excuse me?”

Vincent regained his composure. “Oh...Alberto! Of course! If there was anybody that would recommend me to you, of course it would be my own son!”

Terry’s jaw dropped. “Alberto is your _son?”_

“Yes, assuming we mean the same one. He doesn’t like to talk about it much, though.” Vincent told him. “He prefers to live the life of a normal kid, not the life of a company owner’s son.”

Terry nodded. “That sounds like him. No wonder he knew about this.”

Vincent spoke again. "So, you found that crystal in the park? God damn it, we had been looking for that thing for so long, and it was in a public park? Just our luck."

As Terry looked at him quizzically, Vincent continued. "Trinity was our only successful spirit...and due to circumstances that even I'm not completely aware of, we lost the crystal. Anyways, what you need to know is that this crystal is essentially a "core" of sorts. It sustains Trinity's existence in the material plane, and anything that happens to it will happen to Trinity as well. Needless to say, _do not_ let that thing break. I'm not completely sure what will happen to her otherwise, but it'll be immensely painful and will likely kill her...again."

Trinity stared at the crystal in horror, as if it had suddenly become a bomb. Noticing this, Terry wrapped it in his scarf to make her feel a bit safer.

Vincent cleared his throat and prepared to continue, only for the door to slide open. Standing in the doorway were two people who looked like Vivid Clarity researchers. One was a young woman with short blonde hair and blue eyes, and the other was a slightly older-looking man with spiky brown hair and matching eyes. Both of them wore business suits like Vincent, albeit with white lab coats on top.

"Hey there, Vincent!" the woman called. "What's up?"

The man surveyed the scene. "And who might this young man be?"

As Terry shifted uncomfortably, Vincent gave him a reassuring look. "Relax, they're with me. Guys, this is Terry. He had quite the interesting story to tell me just now, and I'm discussing it with him. Terry, meet Iris and Kevin, two of my most esteemed researchers. Iris is our head chemist, and Kevin is our head engineer. Very smart people."

"Aw, you don't have to flatter us like that." Kevin said sheepishly.

Terry nodded. "Nice to meet you."

Iris pointed at the chair. "Is that an extra chair?"

Vincent shook his head. "Nope. It's taken."

"...By whom?"

Trinity took the moment to suddenly reveal herself to both of them. "By me! I'm Trinity, by the way! Nice to meet you, Iris and Kevin!"

The reaction was immediate. Kevin yelped and backed into the corner, while Iris made a strangled squeak as she tripped over Kevin's shoes and toppled over.

"Ah! Are you okay?" Trinity yelped, kneeling over the dazed Iris. "I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to...do that. I would help you up, but...uh, I can't."

Terry sighed. "Trinity, if you suddenly appear in front of someone, they get scared. It's a natural response."

Trinity pouted. "Not everyone has to be scared of me, though…"

"They wouldn't, if you weren't so _sudden_ with your reveal."

Vincent just laughed as the two researchers got up and regained their composure. Kevin rubbed his eyes and gawked at the glowing child standing before him. "Wait, you _found_ Trinity? Where? How?"

Vincent shrugged. "That's what I've been talking to Terry about. Apparently he found her core crystal in some park, and has now been taking care of her."

"That's really nice of you, kid!" Kevin told Terry.

Terry was a bit confused. "I...just supposed that nobody deserved to be lonely."

Iris knelt down to Trinity's eye level. "Huh. You look different from how I remember you from the pictures. You're still as adorable as ever, though."

"Huh? I do?" Trinity asked quizzically. "I...used to look different?"

"Wait, hold up." Terry said, putting his hands up in a "stop" motion. "You guys knew Trinity before she was...like this? But she doesn't even remember anything about herself!"

Iris apparently didn't hear him. "From what I heard, she was an obedient kid, and had an insatiable desire for friendship. But she always seemed so... _lonely."_

Terry's face tightened. What had Trinity said the day they had met?

_"Please stay with me! I don't want to be lonely...not again…"_

Trinity seemed to have entered a daze. She was staring into space, her mind evidently clouded with more thoughts than it could process at once.

Vincent just nodded. "That makes sense. We don't know a lot about what actually determines what a spirit looks like - especially since Trinity was our only success - but we've had a hunch that the spirit's basic thoughts will help create their appearance. Judging from how young Trinity seems to be, her mind probably just chose an appearance that she thought looked cool."

Terry snorted. "Are you serious?"

Trinity snapped out of her daze, her listless look overcome with an expression of abashed admittance. "Well...that doesn't seem too far off. If I'm being honest, when I think of a spirit, or a ghost...I guess I imagine that they'd look something like how I do now."

Terry shook his head in mild disappointment, causing Trinity to bury her face in her hands out of embarrassment.

Vincent laughed. "Trinity, that's totally fair! No need to fret over it!"

Terry shot Trinity a slightly apologetic look and turned back to Vincent. "So, uh, do you happen to know why she doesn't remember anything?"

Vincent seemed lost in thought as well. "To be honest, we're still not sure how a spirit really _works_. There may have been complications that resulted in a total loss of memory, amongst other things. What else seems odd about her?"

Terry cleared his throat. "Well, uh...she's intangible? She also had trouble experiencing senses, like feelings or smell. When she first appeared, she even seemed incapable of basic things like thought or emotion until...I don't know, _something_ happened."

"Hmm…" Vincent mused. "I guess that makes sense. I have a personal hunch that how much she's anchored to the world is tied to how much she interacts with it. From what you've described, that seems to be true - and if that is true, then it'll only be a matter of time until she's basically just another person. And maybe, after a while...her memories will return as well."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Trinity exclaimed.

Terry just nodded.

All of a sudden, Iris cleared her throat to get their attention. "Hey, anyone else want some snacks? I think there are some in the conference room, about five rooms down."

"I'll take some." Kevin told her.

"Same here." Vincent added.

Terry shook his head. "I'll pass."

Internally, he was a bit surprised. _The people here are so...casual towards each other._

Trinity just sulked. "I wish I could eat snacks…"

As Iris went off to fetch their snacks, Terry stood up. "It's getting a bit late, and I'd prefer to get home soon. Is it okay if we continue this some other time?"

"Oh, there's no need for something like that!" Vincent told him, holding out something that Terry assumed was a business card. "I think it would suffice just to keep in touch somehow. Maybe through phone calls, emails, or even just messages. I don't think we need another meeting just yet, but I'm still curious to see what happens with you two. So, I'd appreciate it if you kept updating us with what's happening with Trinity. Is that fine with you?"

Terry nodded as he took the card.

"Okay, then!" Trinity exclaimed, waving to them as she floated through the door. "Bye!"

Kevin and Vincent waved as Terry turned to leave as well. However, Vincent stopped him right before he opened the door. "Terry?"

"What is it?"

"...Out of curiosity...what do you plan to do after teaching Trinity?"

Terry thought about it. "Well...I suppose that I at least want to teach her enough about the world for her to fit into society. Then, once she's educated and able to interact with the world like a regular person...I'll send her off into the world."

"...But what if she remains lonely?"

Terry didn't look back at him. "I'm sure she'll find some new friends out there."

And with that, he left the room and headed back towards the reception area, where he found a mildly annoyed Trinity.

"Terry…" the spirit muttered slowly, "What took you so long? I tried running out of the building, but you were so far behind that I couldn't go too far…"

Terry just sighed exasperatedly. "Whatever. Let's go."

However, on the way back, Trinity was uncharacteristically silent. It was clear that the day's revelations had gotten her thinking.

 

Vincent leaned back and sighed. "Good grief, that was tough."

Kevin just gave him a questioning look. "You could have answered so many more of his questions. For starts, you _know_ who both of them are, right?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, is there a particular reason you were holding back so much?"

"Well, forgive me if I'm being insensitive, but I'm not quite sure if I can trust Terry just yet." Vincent said. "This stuff is very confidential, and to be frank I'm not very comfortable talking about it _at all._ "

The door slid open, and Iris walked back into the room. "Okay, I brought some biscuits. Hey, where did Terry and Trinity go?"

"They wanted to get home a bit earlier." Kevin replied.

Iris shrugged. "Huh. That's odd."

Turning towards Vincent, she seemed to think of something. "Hey, Vincent...just so we're clear...that _is_ the same Terry that I'm thinking of, right?"

Vincent nodded. "I believe so. That would explain why he seemed to be drawn towards Trinity's core crystal. William did have a hypothesis that a spirit could possibly reach out to people it was thinking of at the time that its thoughts were recorded. And Trinity's thoughts were recorded...right before her demise."

Kevin shook his head. "The more I think about it, the more I feel bad for him. Poor kid...he didn't deserve what happened to him."

Vincent sighed exasperatedly. "We owe him a great deal. Curse my father and his blasted antics - because of him, Terry has suffered more than he ever should have. Whether I can trust him yet is one thing, but I'm still determined to help him out. One day, we'll have to tell him the truth - and I say we have to because it's my moral obligation. We owe him that, at least…"

Iris nodded. "True. I can't believe that he found Trinity, though…"

"Me neither." Vincent replied, taking off his glasses and wiping them. "Anyways, it's been a wild day. You two have been working hard today, so just take a break for now - remember not to overtax yourselves.

The two researchers nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Vincent smiled. "Hopefully, Terry brings us some useful information about Trinity soon. I'm intrigued as to what we can do with it."

Then he heard Kevin choke. "W-what? Who replaced the filling in these biscuits with mustard? Iris...how did you even....aargh! I swear, when I get my hands on you, you're going straight out the nearest window!"

As a giggling Iris made a break for it and a furious Kevin took off after her, Vincent couldn't help but chuckle.

_Who said work couldn't be fun?_

  



	4. Connection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter this time around. Getting hit with exams and final projects from almost every direction kind of sucks, but I'm somehow still finding time to work on my writing. I guess it's really just a pastime.

_The next Friday…_

Terry shook his head as he walked up to his apartment door. Thinking of all of the work he had to do, he sighed in exasperation. It was nearly the winter break! Why did all of the teachers seem to have made some kind of pact to simultaneously load everyone with so much work at this time?

Putting his hand to his forehead, he tapped the key card to his door and pushed it open.

"Surprise!"

The boy flinched in alarm. A more sensible Terry would have realized that it was just Trinity trying to scare him. However, his mind was a bit fevered from all of the work he had done in school today - and his dread of the work to come wasn't helping. Either way, Terry didn't register the sudden figure before him as the spirit living in his home. He registered it as some kind of burglar - a threat.

With a grunt of surprise, Terry slung his backpack off his shoulders before hauling back and hurling it straight at the supposed intruder. There was a high-pitched yelp and a heavy thud as the bag hit the wall.

Terry took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. There was no burglar in his home. No threat that needed to be neutralized. The only one there was Trinity, who was now pinned under his bag and struggling to get it off.

"Oh, uh…sorry. Jeez, don't scare me like that, though." Terry said slowly, realizing the mistake he had made. He had no idea that simply flinging his bag at Trinity would have been enough to send her flying across the living room. His bag _was_ fairly heavy, but Trinity had to have been pretty light for something like that to happen.

Then the full gravity of what had just happened hit him. "Wait a second..."

He ran over to Trinity. The small child had been slammed into the wall, Terry's backpack still pinning her down. Apparently it had been pretty painful, because tears were appearing in the corners of Trinity's eyes. However, that wasn't what Terry was concerned about - although it was true that Trinity had never been able to cry before.

What shocked Terry was that his bag had actually slammed her into the wall.

"Trinity…" he began, "Since when were you able to...touch physical objects?"

Trinity stopped struggling and looked up at him. "I...what? I...can touch things?"

"Well, you're pinned to the ground, and you felt pain from that blow."

"I…" Trinity trailed off. She pushed the bag off of herself and stood up, touching a wall and flinching when she actually _felt_ it. "I can…I can touch things now!"

Terry couldn't help but smile a bit. "You can. Trinity, that's amazing for you. You can finally interact with the world, just like a regular person."

"I...I don't know...what to say…" Trinity stuttered, tears of joy involuntarily springing to her eyes. Flinching in shock at the unfamiliar sensation, she raised her finger to her eyes and, after accidentally poking herself, wiped some of her tears away. "Are these...the tears you taught me about?"

"Yeah." Terry said simply.

Trinity nodded as the tears simply dissolved into blue light. "You said that they appear when you're sad. But I'm so happy now…"

"Hey, tears of joy exist too."

Trinity smiled. "That's...nice to know!"

Terry nodded. "You've just unlocked a whole new realm of opportunity for yourself. Now that you're tangible, there are so many things that you can learn about."

"Oh, really?" Trinity exclaimed, bouncing with excitement. "Well, what are we waiting for? I'm going to try out _everything_ here!"

 _Oh, God._ "Wait, calm down. You can't just-"

But Trinity was already off, running around the apartment like it was a playground. Terry sighed, pulling out his phone and sending a text to Vincent. _"Trinity just became able to interact with physical objects. She also cried for the first time, so that's a thing."_

Apparently Vincent was on his phone, because he replied instantly. _"Excellent news! I'm fairly sure she can still turn intangible at will. Make sure to try new things with her now that she can interact with the physical plane, alright?"_

Terry sighed again. _"I'll...try my best."_

As he put his phone away, Trinity dashed into Terry's room. Already anticipating what she was trying to do, he cleared his throat. "Trinity, get off my bed."

Apparently, his hunch was correct, because Trinity's response was instant as she slunk out of the room. "Aww!"

Terry shook his head. "Trinity, you can go around trying things, but don't mess with my stuff. Also, now that you can actually get hurt now, don't do anything stupid."

Just as he said this, Trinity picked up a knife from the drawer. "Can I touch this?"

_"No."_

Trinity frowned again. "Okay. Oh, what about this?"

Before Terry could stop her, Trinity picked a random biscuit off the table and shoved it into her mouth, before choking violently and nearly keeling over on the spot. Terry made a chewing motion with his mouth, and Trinity mimicked it. Before long, she had managed to accomplish the stellar feat of eating her first biscuit.

"Huh. I wonder what happens to the things you eat." Terry mused. "You don't even need food."

Trinity ignored him. "Oh, this tastes good! It feels so good to taste things! Oh, what about those? Those buttons look cool!"

Terry was about to make a comment on how Trinity seemed to have the attention span of a goldfish when excited, but decided not to. "Well, at least you're on your way to becoming just like a regular person. On your way to leading a real life."

Trinity stopped running around and slowly walked up to Terry, who stepped back once he saw that her eyes were filled with an unusual sentimentality. Looking up at him, Trinity said something that Terry wasn't expecting. "Now that you say it...I guess I am on my way to living just like everyone else. And...I want to thank you for teaching me so much. Without you...I wouldn't be nearly as ready for the world as I am now. I'm not actually _that_ ready, but if I had no teacher...I'd be totally lost in the world, invisible and untouchable."

She managed what looked like a small bow. "Thank you. Now that I'm more like everyone else...now that I can touch the world...I want to do whatever I can to repay your kindness."

Terry was utterly stunned - an emotion that he almost never showed. He had no idea to respond to this sudden proclamation. Trinity seemed to notice this, and tilted her head as if _she_ was now unsure of how to respond as well.

After a bit, Terry regained his composure. "Uh...you're welcome, I guess?"

Trinity smiled. "In that case, tell me to do something! I want to try something!"

Terry looked around for something he could occupy Trinity with. Eventually, his eyes settled on a nearby pack of antibacterial wipes. "Well, for starts...you can help me wipe the table using those wipes. You saw me do it before, now you can try it. I'm going to go out and get some stuff for dinner. This time, you can eat some too."

"Ok! I'll...wait!" Trinity said in surprise. "You're leaving me here alone?"

Terry nodded. "You've got to learn how to spend time by yourself. That's a part of growing up. There won't always be someone beside you."

Trinity seemed a bit uncomfortable, but nodded. "Okay. I'll try."

As Trinity got to work and Terry left for the grocery store, he sent a text to Vincent. _"Trinity showed an unusual amount of sentimentality today. She actually thanked me for taking care of her, and promised to repay me."_

As he walked to the grocery store, he didn't see Vincent's response. _"Oh, come on. That's just a normal response for any sensible person. She's a nice kid, after all."_

 

_Later…_

Trinity wiped her mouth with a tissue, beaming from ear to ear. "That felt so good! To eat such good food...that's such a wonderful feeling! I'm so glad that I can do that now!"

Terry wasn't sure if "sushi platter he got on sale" counted as good food, but he shrugged anyways. "Maybe next time, I can actually cook something. Oh, by the way, I got you this."

Trinity's eyes widened as Terry procured a small roll of feta cheese. "No way! That's the thing from before!"

Terry unwrapped it and cut it into pieces. "I told you that you could try it once you could taste things. Also, it was on sale."

Trinity wasted no time picking one up and popping it into her mouth. Instantly, she flinched from the unfamiliar taste, but still chewed and swallowed it with no problems. "It's nice. It tastes very different."

"You haven't exactly tasted a lot of things."

Trinity nodded, proceeding to eat silently for the next minute or so. Terry took this chance to eat in peace, but Trinity soon spoke up again. "Hey, Terry? What...does a person feel like?"

Terry shrugged. "Maybe you'll find out one day."

Trinity thought about that. Then, she spoke up. "Terry, can you give me a hug?"

"...No."

"Then how about I give you a hug?"

"...No."

Trinity frowned. "Why not? Please?"

Terry sighed. "No. I have work to do."

Trinity was crestfallen by his resistance. "Okay…"

As Terry got working on his projects, Trinity sat idly and watched him curiously. She had no idea why he was so opposed to the idea of what she saw as a simple hug. To be fair, she had no idea why Terry seemed to be opposed to so many things. However, she wasn't going to let it worry her too much. There were always more chances. If it wasn't today, she'd try again the next day...and the next...and the next.

She was resolute that way.

 

_The next Sunday morning…_

Terry finished his breakfast and put his bowl in the sink. Normally, he would wash it, but he was in a bit of a hurry. Walking over to the couch, he sighed once he saw the state of his roommate. Trinity was still soundly wrapped up in her blanket, fast asleep and snoring softly. A thin string of drool was hanging out of her mouth, although it was thankfully dissolving into blue light before it could touch the couch.

Giving the sleeping child a look of mild disappointment, Terry grabbed her blanket and yanked on it as hard as he could. The blanket unfurled instantly, unceremoniously dropping its user onto the couch.

Trinity's eyes snapped open. "What? W-what's going on?"

"What's going on," Terry said slowly, "is that you were about to oversleep. Remember what we discussed yesterday? We're waking up earlier today because _you_ said you wanted to go on a trip."

Trinity yawned. "Oh...right. But I'm...so tired…"

"Come on." Terry told him, hefting the bag that he had packed last night. "If you're not coming, then I'll head off by myself."

"No! I'm coming!" Trinity yelped, stumbling to her feet and rushing after him.

After a bit, the two of them had stepped into the frigid air. As Trinity walked behind Terry - following his direction to try behaving like a tangible person - she admired the layers of reflective ice coating the ground and reached down to touch them. The cold did bother her, but as blunt as Terry's "sink-or-swim" type teachings were, they _were_ teaching her how to be more resilient.

The two of them walked to the train station, boarded a train, and set off towards their destination: North Peak Terminus. As the train shot towards their destination, Trinity shivered as the cold seemed to seep into her body. She tucked her legs into her dress and curled into a ball, only for Terry to elbow her. She remembered that she was on a train, and promptly assumed a proper sitting position again. Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice.

Before long, the train arrived at North Peak, and the two of them got off. Walking to the start of the path, Terry motioned towards the bicycle rack that was next to it. Terry had decided to bike to his friends' requested meeting spot, and Trinity had expressed interest in trying it out. He had showed her a tutorial on basic biking, but he wasn't exactly sure if it was even feasible for one to bike well on their first try.

Trinity, however, was eager to try. Even when getting on the bike, she flinched as the bumps on the pedals dug into her feet - clearly they had been meant for someone who was wearing actual footwear outside of socks. Terry _had_ tried to convince her that wearing shoes was a good idea, but she was opposed to the idea for some inane reason. Fortunately, nobody had noticed.

After making herself comfortable, Trinity retracted the kickstand and took off. Terry was surprised once he saw that she was biking smoothly, only for her to lose control and crash into a tree seconds later. As Terry picked up the bike and placed it back onto the path, Trinity got up, shaking her head in pain. It appeared that a branch had scraped her arm, and the wound was leaking peculiar blue sparks instead of blood. However, her core crystal flashed a couple of times, and the wound healed quickly.

He remembered what Vincent had texted him the other day. _She's a magical being! Of course she's probably going to have strange powers!_

Trinity, not to let a single failure stop her, quickly remounted her bike and took off again...only to slip and fall a second time. Sighing, Terry put away his bike and opted to walk beside Trinity as she struggled with the bicycle. Crash after crash, Terry simply observed her, watching if she could handle this by herself - and this action just prompted Trinity to try even harder _._ And as she powered through her failures, she was showing visible improvement. Soon, her biking was shaky but nonetheless stable - something that Terry actually praised her on, much to her joy.

As the two of them neared the indoor badminton court that was their destination, Trinity's eyes flickered again as she thought of something. Then, she voiced her thoughts. "Terry, do you like taking care of me?"

Terry snorted. "Well, depends on how annoying you're being at the time-"

He trailed off as Trinity gave him a soulful look that bordered on a glare. "Terry, please...answer me honestly. Do I give you too much trouble? Am I a bad student?"

Terry gulped at Trinity's sudden intensity. Compiling his thoughts, he composed an answer he thought was suitable and used it. "You're not a bad student by any means. You learn fast, and you usually listen to what you're told. As for your first question...well, I'd be lying if I said that this wasn't a welcome experience for me. As someone who lived alone for a good portion of their life...I had been wondering what living with someone else was like."

He wondered if that was enough for Trinity, because it apparently was. She smiled and kept biking, Terry following close behind. _Wow, she's maturing fast. That's good, though. Soon, she'll be ready for whatever the world throws at her. And then I can actually say that my teachings aren't completely useless…_

He sighed as Trinity biked into another tree. _But, for now...I guess I'll have to be her caretaker for a bit longer._

 

_Several hours later…_

Olivia yelped as she lunged at the bird, only for her racket to fall mere centimeters short. As the bird tumbled to the ground, Olivia hung her head in dismay as Jerry pumped his fist. "That's 3-1 for us! Let's go!"

Terry just smiled as Alberto facepalmed. Laughing, Jerry took the bird and served again. This time, Alberto returned it, sparking a furious flurry of strikes from the two teens. From how fast they were going, it looked less like a badminton match and more like a duel to the death.

While all of this commotion was going on, Trinity sat on the sidelines, her icy-blue eyes following their movements intensely. Every swing, every impact, every gust of wind made by the game was all so _new_ to her. She readily devoured all of this new information, eager to learn more about the game.

After several minutes, the four youth shook hands as the game ended. Terry and Jerry had won by the hair of their teeth - Olivia had made a sudden turnaround halfway through the match. As they laughed and talked, the four of them walked up to the bench where Trinity was seated. The child was lost in thought, turning a shuttlecock in her hands and scrutinizing it as if to break it down with her gaze.

"Trinity?" Terry called.

Roused from her stupor, Trinity looked up and gave him an enthusiastic thumbs-up. "That looked like so much fun! You guys seem really good at this game."

Jerry smiled. "Wait until you see a _real_ badminton pro."

Olivia's jaw dropped. "Wait, hold on a moment? Since when could Trinity _touch_ things?"

Terry shrugged. "Since about a week ago? I suppose she hasn't been coming to our school a lot anymore. I'm teaching her independence."

Olivia made an odd sound that could most closely described as a squeak of happiness. Before Trinity could say anything, she scooped up the smaller child and gave her a hug, before dropping her on the bench and patting her head. "I've always wanted to do that!"

As Olivia sauntered off, Trinity seemed totally stunned. Her eyes were vacant as she slowly hugged herself, as if trying to remember the sensation. "W-wait...come back…"

Jerry frowned at her odd reaction. "What's with her? Has she never felt another person before?"

"Uh, no?" Terry offered. "I don't make a lot of contact with her. Never saw a need to."

In response, his friend shook his head. "Not even something as simple as a hug?"

"...Why would I need to do that?"

Jerry sighed. "Terry, you may be her teacher and roommate, but you don't have to limit yourself to _just_ being those. To that kid, you're likely even more than that - a friend, an older sibling. Hell, maybe even a _parental figure."_

As Terry shook his head, either unconvinced or in denial, Jerry went on. "I know what you're thinking - that you're not cut out to be any of those things I just mentioned. Well, you might not have had a lot of companionship growing up, but assuming that Trinity was "born" when you found her, neither has she. So, it's only fair for you to treat her with the same kind of care that you would have wanted to be treated with. Would your ideal caretaker figure refuse to hug you, or even touch you?"

"...You know me too well, Jerry." Terry sighed. "Thanks for the advice, though. I'll give it some thought."

"By give it some thought, you mean you're going to put it off indefinitely, right?"

Terry didn't reply.

Apparently oblivious to all of this, Trinity dashed up to Terry, bouncing excitedly. "Terry, can you teach me how to play badminton?"

"...That's not something you can just learn in a day, Trinity."

In response, Trinity just puffed up her cheeks defiantly. "I know that! But I still want to try learning it! I want to see how much I can learn right now!"

Terry was about to go on a spiel about how he was physically incapable of teaching someone a sport that he wasn't even that good at, but Alberto was quick to step in. "Sure, I'll try teaching you. Terry, you're with me. Help me out."

"...Okay."

So, for the next hour or so, the two friends gave Trinity one of their spare rackets and tried their best to outline the basics of the game. Throughout this, Trinity listened and watched attentively, tentatively mimicking their hand gestures. Fortunately for them, she was a diligent and fast learner, so it didn't take too long to get an extremely rudimentary understanding of badminton into her head.

Before they knew it, Terry was standing across from Trinity on the playing field, both of them holding their rackets at the ready. While Terry was poised and calm, Trinity was fidgeting around with her racket, trying to copy Terry's stance.

Olivia waved from the sidelines. "Terry, remember to go easy on her!"

Terry shook his head. "Uh, I'll try."

Trinity had a different idea. "Don't do that! I want to fight you at your best!"

Jerry snorted. "Well, if you say so. Terry, you make the decision."

Terry wasn't good at holding back, so he managed a small smile. "Trinity...I'll grant your wish."

With a swift stroke, Terry served the shuttle. It was an ideal serve - low, long, and aimed at the side of the field that Trinity _wasn't_ on. The girl's eyes widened as they tracked the bird in midair...and then, they flashed as she moved with impossible speed. In a blur of silvery-blue light, she dashed at the bird and struck.

A crack resounded through the air as the bird hurtled past Terry, hitting the wall behind him and sliding to the floor. The shot had gone wide and was technically out, but the fact that Trinity had managed to hit it so hard and fast still stunned Terry. Looking at Trinity, Terry instinctively backed up a bit when he saw that miniature arcs of lightning were crackling along her skin. Taking out her core crystal, he saw that it was pulsating with silver light.

"Whoa, how did I do that?" Trinity asked. "Well, it was cool! Again! Again!"

Alberto's jaw had dropped, and Jerry just stared at her in shock. Olivia was beginning to wonder if Terry could even _afford_ to go easy on her.

"...Okay." Terry said slowly. "Let's go."

 

As the bird soared through the air over and over again, Terry steeled his nerves and carefully observed his opponent. He had no idea where Trinity had gotten this sudden power surge from, but even in a casual game he wasn't about to forfeit over something like that. As they traded shots, he began to understand how Trinity played. Despite her flimsy appearance, Trinity moved far faster and struck _far_ harder than one would have expected. However, she had still only learned about the game today - and Terry had years of experience. So, once he got Trinity's patterns down, he had managed to soundly defeat her, ending with a score of 21-2.

As the final bird hit the ground, Trinity lunged for it and missed. Terry wiped the sweat off his forehead and laughed while his friends applauded and ran up to him.

"Wow, you've really improved!" Jerry told him. "The next people should be arriving soon, though. Let's go home."

Olivia shook her head in disbelief. "But...how was Trinity so strong? She's a kid, right? Last time I checked, small children weren't able to pull off the things that she had done in that game!"

Terry shrugged. "I dunno. Vincent probably has some explanation for it. I'll just observe and see what happens."

Trinity got up and dashed over to them, the crackling light in her eyes subsiding. "That was fun! Hey, do you think we can do it again sometime?"

Terry managed a nod. "Yeah...maybe some other day. But for now, our time here is up. Let's go home."

 

_Minutes later…_

Terry sighed. "Jerry, you were the one who said "let's go home". What happened to that?"

Jerry opened his mouth to respond, only to get a faceful of snow for his trouble. A couple meters away, Olivia giggled as she prepared another snowball, and Alberto was furiously compressing snow to make the mother of all snowy projectiles.

Terry shook his head as another barrage of snow sailed through the air. Seeing his friends acting so juvenile secretly miffed him a bit, but he still believed that everyone deserved to have fun. However, he wasn't one for a snowball fight, so he was sitting out.

Standing beside him, Trinity tilted her head. "What's that? It looks fun…"

"You see, whenever it snows, people will gather up snow and start throwing it at each other." Terry explained. "It's an activity that many people do during winter. Although I feel like it's mostly done by small children...I suppose anyone can do it."

Trinity nodded. "Okay! If anyone can do it, I want to as well!"

"Then go right ahead." Terry told her. "I'll be watching from here."

And with that, Trinity leapt into the snow, only to emerge shivering. However, she seemed quite resistant to the cold considering how light her attire was. Reaching into the nearest snow pile, she fashioned a rough sphere out of the frigid powder, only for it to fall to pieces in her hands. Looking dejectedly at Terry, the older teen made a compressing motion with his hands. Trinity tried it out and laughed once her snowball actually held together this time. She glanced back at Terry for approval, to which he responded with a thumbs-up.

While Jerry and Olivia had been waging siege warfare on each other, Alberto had been hiding along the sidelines, preparing enough snowballs to send both of them to the shadow realm. Before he could unleash his arsenal, however, a chunk of snow hit him in the face and sent him reeling. His gaze shot to the left, expecting for Jerry or Olivia to be there. However, in their stead, Trinity stood as tall as she could, a smile plastered on her face as she hefted another ball of snow.

"Oh, so you want to play too, huh?" Alberto laughed. "Well, come on then!"

Trinity raised her arm and threw. The snowball sailed through the air...landing a good ten meters from Alberto's position. In response to this, Alberto picked up one of his pre-made snowballs and chucked it straight at her. The densely packed snow struck Trinity squarely in the chest and practically bowled her over, sending her sprawling into the snow.

Alberto was about to ask if she was okay when Trinity got back up, dusting the snow off her dress and immediately preparing another snowball. Just as she was about to launch, however, Alberto interrupted her with another direct hit. This snowball was less packed, and exploded into a fine mist when it struck her. However, it was still enough to throw her aim off course, sending her projectile hurtling far away from her target.

Trinity frowned as she quickly rolled up another snowball and threw it. This one would have hit Alberto, if he hadn't ducked out of the way in time. As Trinity tried to get the whole idea of dodging into her mind, Alberto struck her in the shoulder again and knocked her over.

Alberto was starting to consider if he should cut Trinity some slack and just go for the other two targets first. However, just as he made his decision, a high-velocity snowball struck him in the face hard enough to stagger him. Looking to his left once more, he saw that Trinity was still standing - and he instinctively backed up half a step once he saw that her silvery-blue eyes were beginning to spark and glower.

In a lightning-quick motion, Trinity hurled another snowball at him. Her aim had improved significantly, but Alberto still managed to swat it aside with his arm. Retaliating with a snowball of his own, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Trinity had learned how to dodge. Hefting another snowball, he smiled as his opponent prepared another one. "Now, this is more like it. You're a fast learner!"

Trinity was about to thank him for the compliment when another snowball struck her in the arm. Turning around in surprise, she saw Olivia and Jerry with snowballs at the ready. They hurled their projectiles simultaneously - Trinity managed to avoid one, but the other struck her cleanly in the face.

Olivia and Jerry prepared more snowballs as Alberto resumed his attack as well. If Trinity was really a part of this snowball fight as well, both of them knew that it was in their best interests to try and force her out of the fight before she displayed any more of her bizarre magical powers.

So, the three teens launched a simultaneous attack. Caught in the intersection of three-way crossfire, Trinity was pelted from every direction without a chance to retaliate.

"W-what?" Trinity sputtered through a mouthful of snow. "Why is...everyone attacking me?"

Her eyes began to flicker with light. "But I...I'll still do my best!"

Her attackers all backed up as the air shimmered. Her form flickering with silver light, Trinity got up as waves of energy pulsated from her body. Then, to everyone's surprise, the snow around her began levitating. Rising into the air around Trinity, the snow surrounded her, shaped itself into innumerable balls, and shot in every direction.

The barrage struck indiscriminately. Alberto tripped in his attempt to find cover and was completely buried by the snowy tide. Olivia's jaw dropped as she got a faceful of snow, and Jerry barely had enough time to mutter a curse before taking the bombardment head-on.

Once the snowy barrage ceased, the three friends dug their way out of the snow and gawked. Amidst the aftermath of her attack, Trinity stood wearily, the silvery-blue aura around her dissipating. Behind her, Terry had a look of bewildered shock plastered on his face, snow covering his jacket. Apparently not even he had been spared.

Trinity turned towards Terry and tilted her head. "Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do...whatever that was. And you weren't even playing, either..."

Terry just shook his head in amazement. "It's okay, but...what was that?"

"Huh...I...don't know…" Trinity muttered deliriously, falling onto her knees before collapsing into the snow. Olivia urgently grabbed her and seated her unconscious form on the nearest bench as Terry felt her forehead. "She doesn't seem sick or anything. I think she just tired herself out. I don't know what that was, but I'm fairly sure not even she knows what kind of bizarre powers she has."

"Fair enough." Jerry said. "The only person that would know something about it is Vincent, and according to you not even he knows a lot about Trinity."

Terry just shook his head. "I'll ask him about it later. For now, I'm going to try to get Trinity home."

Nobody objected. Carrying the unconscious child on his back, Terry and the others brought her to the train station and headed back towards the city. The friends were silent on the ride back, the four of them simply staring at the darkening sky and the snowstorm that was slowly building outside. One by one, they got off the train and said their goodbyes, until only Terry was left.

As Terry disembarked the train and powered through the blizzard, he became aware of people giving him strange looks - they were justified, considering that it wasn't every day that you saw a teen carrying an unconscious child. However bizarre his situation was, Terry didn't let it bother him...too much, at least. Hopefully they just assumed that Trinity was his sister, or something.

By the time he reached his apartment, he was tired and shivering. Trinity didn't weigh a lot, but walking straight through the blizzard had felt like countless icy daggers biting into his skin. Haphazardly laying Trinity on the couch, he took off his jacket and sighed.

After sending the day's report to Vincent, he looked at Trinity's unconscious form lying on the couch. As he prepared to leave her there and make dinner, his mind drifted back to what Jerry had told him.

_Treat her...like my ideal parental figure would, huh?_

Terry had no experience with parenting, and little experience with being parented. Even when they had been alive, his parents were rarely there for him, constantly away for reasons they refused to tell him. But still...if he tried, he could still recall that they had treated him with utmost kindness when they _had_ been there.

_What I would want from a parental figure…_

After a bit of thinking, Terry walked up to the slumbering Trinity. Gingerly, he put her into a more comfortable sleeping position and slid a pillow underneath her head, before grabbing a blanket and tucking her in.

"...Get better soon, kid."

As he turned around, he could make out a small smile on Trinity's face.

 

Trinity had her first dream that night.

She dreamt that she was sinking into an ocean. Below her were inky depths that extended infinitely downwards; above her was a glimmering ray of light illuminating the water's surface. Her form shone like a beacon in the cold, rapidly darkening water.

She tried to move, but she couldn't. Her body seemed totally devoid of energy. Even as she sank farther into the depths, she wasn't having any trouble breathing. She just stared into the light, her mind overwhelmed by a kind of fascinated tranquility.

Then, peculiar streams of bubbles started to swirl around her, as if to whisk her away to a faraway place. She blinked in surprise, and the bubbles grew in size. Within each one, a blurry scene began to play out.

Trinity stared at the bubbles, transfixed by the colorful images dancing within them. Each one seemed to tell a different story.

One was of a little girl with blonde hair and green eyes. As Trinity watched, the girl looked up at two silhouettes. "Can you stay with me today?"

One of the shadowy figures shook their head. "Sorry, but we're really busy. We're behind on our work. And if we're too far behind...bad things happen."

The girl didn't move, but her voice was heard again. "But...I don't want to be alone…"

"Not again...not like every other time..."

Trinity gasped as she realized that those words had come from her own mouth. The bubble became dull, and shattered like a mirror.

Looking to another bubble, she saw the same golden-haired girl hunched over in the grass, sobbing. Then, the bubble glowed a warm golden color as the image showed a hand reaching out to the girl.

As the strange golden glow grew brighter, a watery voice spoke to her. "Who...are you? What...what's your name?"

Trinity called out weakly. "Trinity...my name is Trinity…"

But the bubble and its radiant glow vanished as well.

As if stirred by some underwater current, the bubbles swirled around her even faster, some of them shattering and vanishing. Staring into the nearest one, she barely made out the image of someone staring at a hunched figure from around a corner. Even in a still, blurry picture, she could feel the anguish coming from the hunched figure.

As if on cue, all of the bubbles ruptured and shattered at once as the light from the ocean's surface began to dim. As Trinity weakly beckoned for the light to return, she heard watery sounds echoing from all around her.

First of all was the voice of the girl from before. "N-no! I'm sorry! I don't wanna...please! All I wanted was...to…"

Her voice was drowned out by a muffled drone.

Then the voice returned. "H-help! Please...help me! Tell them they're wrong!"

Deafening silence followed.

As the light petered out and was replaced by pitch-black darkness, the voice spoke one last time.

"...No…no...I...I'll be good...I promise...just...please..."

And as a deafening crack resounded through the water, the very space around Trinity seemed to rupture and shatter, dropping Trinity into the infinite abyss.

 

Trinity's eyes snapped open violently, the child panting heavily and in a cold sweat.

After her heart rate slowed down a bit again, she looked around. There was no endless ocean, no bubbles showing her mysterious visions. She was in the familiar environment of Terry's living room, the early morning sunrise visible through the half-open window.

She stared blankly at the sun, only to flinch when a voice behind her spoke. "Up already? It's not like you to wake up this early."

Trinity turned around and saw Terry sitting at the dining table, typing something on a laptop. Sitting up, Trinity tentatively raised a hand. "I...I just had a dream…"

"That's nice. Dreaming is normal." Terry said offhandedly. "How was it?"

"...Weird."

As Terry just shrugged, Trinity thought about her dream. Those visions that she had seen didn't seem like random thoughts. There was something familiar about them. If she was being hopeful, they could have even been pieces of her lost memories.

On second thought, she wasn't sure if she really wanted those to be her memories. They seemed pretty sad.

As Terry packed his lunch, Trinity was overcome with a strange feeling. Whenever she looked at him, Trinity felt...something. It was a feeling of confused guilt, like she had wronged him somehow but couldn't imagine _how_.

However, Trinity had something else on her mind. "...All I remember is the snowball fight. What happened after that?"

"Well…" Terry began, "You were out cold, so we brought you back here and let you rest. You slept like a rock."

"Wait...so you carried me all the way back?"

"...Maybe."

Trinity didn't know how to respond, now that she knew that Terry had gone out of his way to manually carry her back here. "...Thank you..."

 _Perhaps that's why I feel...so indebted to him all of a sudden._ Trinity thought. _But...why do I feel like there's something else behind that?_

Before she could say anything else, Terry smiled. "Tell you what, since you're up so early, I've got some time. I want to show you something really amazing."

Trinity immediately jumped on the opportunity. "Okay!"

 

_One minute later…_

"Wow...so this is the "internet" you keep talking about?"

As Trinity's eyes shone with excitement, Terry just nodded. "Yeah. Everyone living today deserves to know about the internet. With it, you can...well, I don't even know if I _can_ describe everything you can do with it. You can do almost anything."

Trinity was practically bouncing with excitement. "So, you say I could do almost anything with this? That's amazing! But, if you can do almost anything...there have to be rules of some sort, right?"

"I'm glad you asked that, Trinity." Terry told her, pleased with how responsible she was becoming. "The internet itself doesn't have any real rules, but there are unspoken rules that you would be advised to follow. It's almost time for me to go, so I might explain them to you when I get back."

"Wait, but can't I just look them up?"

Terry briefly imagined what would happen if Trinity searched up the rules of the internet, and just shook his head. "...I'd advise against it."

"...Okay."

Terry checked the time and shook his head again. "Alright, I have to go. I left a sheet on the table outlining some things I'd recommend starting with, and some things you should avoid. Your crystal is on the living room table, don't lose it."

"Okay! See you later!"

 

_About seven hours later…_

Trinity's eyes shimmered as they hungrily took in all of the information she had found. Needless to say, her mind had been completely blown by the discovery of the internet. She had never imagined that so much knowledge could have been so close within reach. Using Terry's recommendation list, she had systematically tried out all of the listed sites and functions - watching videos, reading articles, and playing games, all while picking up a staggering amount of new knowledge in the process. If Terry allowed her to, she'd gladly start spending most of her spare time on the internet, in case that it could teach her even more than it already had.

Trinity laughed softly. _Heh. I'm already becoming one of those "internet addicts" Terry told me about._

She heard the door open, and she turned to wave at Terry. "Welcome back! Oh, I did so many things today! There was so much to see and watch on the internet! I…"

She trailed off as her eyes widened in horror. Terry quickly tossed his backpack onto the couch, panting heavily. His clothes were ripped, bruises covered every exposed part of his body, and his face was covered with blood.

"T-T-Terry?" Trinity stuttered, in complete shock. "W-what happened to you?"

Terry completely ignored her question. "Hey, Trinity. Nice to know the internet has been serving you well so far."

"D-don't just ignore my question! Are you hurt? What happened?"

Terry sighed, grabbing a tissue and wiping some blood from his nose. "Got into a fight with Mark and his gang again. God, those guys never quit. I was a bit sloppy today, so I took a few more hits than I would have liked. Thank goodness the receptionist was on a washroom break, otherwise he would have been all over me."

"A...fight?" Trinity asked. "Like...a play fight? A snowball fight?"

Terry shook his head. "Nope. A real fight."

Trinity gulped. "Does...this happen often? You look very hurt..."

Terry just shrugged. "Eh, it's pretty common. I'm honestly surprised I haven't gotten into an incident like this ever since I met you. Those scumbags must've been feeling merciful."

"That...red. That's...blood, right?" Trinity asked fearfully. "You said that blood runs through all people...and that when they get badly hurt, blood comes out, right?"

Terry nodded.

"W-well, you're badly hurt then!" Trinity stammered. "What can I do to help?"

Terry shook his head. "I can take care of this. I'm used to it."

As Terry got some rubbing alcohol, tissue paper, and ice packs, Trinity followed him around urgently. "A...real fight? What is that? And why did it hurt you like this?"

Terry sighed, deciding to just explain it as bluntly as possible. "Well, when people can't agree with or don't like each other, and they can't talk it out, they might fight. They'll use their bodies or other weapons to hurt each other, or even kill each other. Fortunately for me, these haven't escalated to a lethal level...yet."

Trinity was stunned. "K-kill? Why would someone want to...kill someone else? And even if they don't...people hurt each other just because they can't agree?"

"Trinity, listen closely. This is very important." Terry said, his tone dead serious. "There are good people in this world, but you must know that the world is far from perfect. There are people who like to hurt others. There are people who only care for themselves. There are people who will manipulate others to get what they want. That's reality. And to survive in reality, you have to learn to accept it - and figure out ways to avoid or fend off those people."

Trinity was silent. "I...that's a bit hard...to accept."

Terry nodded. "I understand. You're a pretty purehearted kid. But you're a fast learner - you'll probably get it soon. You'll have to if you want to survive here, after all."

Trinity looked up at him again. "Wait. If you said that you have to figure out ways to fend off those bad people...how do you do it?"

Terry clenched his hand, then unclenched it. "Talking would work to reasonable people. However, the lot that constantly attack me aren't reasonable. They pick fights for the sake of fighting and injuring, and their leader only cares for himself. They'll go after me as long as I still live in the area, just for the sake of bothering me or hopefully injuring me. So, I had to go for the next best option - which is to learn to fight back. And it works, for the most part."

He tilted his head when he saw tears welling up in Trinity's eyes. "W-what? But you...you're such a good person! What kind of people would want to hurt you like this? And for no reason, too!"

"Okay, I don't know if I can actually be called a good person, but sometimes violence _is_ a valid answer to problems." Terry said adamantly. "After all, I've got to care for my own well-being, and it's better that _they_ get hurt instead of me."

Trinity was a bit intimidated by the fervor in Terry's words. It was obvious that he really believed in what he was saying, but his voice was still tight with an unknown frustration - like he had tried other ways but could only resort to this one.

"Well...if that's what you believe...I'll believe it too." Trinity said quietly. "If fighting is sometimes the only way out...I guess I'll have to fight. But those people...I can't believe how horrible they are...why would they hurt people for no reason?"

"If you can't believe how bad they are, then you better get used to it." Terry said. "These guys are pretty tame compared to what else is in the world."

Trinity looked a bit scared by this statement, but nodded. "But if they're hurting you...I want to do what I can to help! You teach me, take care of me, make sure I'm not lonely...so I want to help you with any problems you have! Even...even something like this!"

Terry tried to envision the situation - a little girl trying to fight off a veritable horde of dull-but-nonetheless-strong high schoolers. His instincts could only produce a single, gruesome outcome - Trinity would get beaten to a pulp, which would likely traumatize her even with her regeneration and theoretical immortality. However, deeper in his mind, he took her bizarre magical powers into consideration. Would she really be able to fend them off?

In the end, he settled with a response in between those two. "Um, I'm really not sure if that's a good idea. Most of these people are numbskulls, but they're still far larger than you - and you really don't seem like a fighting type. I know you have powers or something, but nobody knows really about them - not even you. Getting involved in something like this could seriously hurt you."

Apparently this offended her somehow, because Trinity puffed up her cheeks indignantly. "Hey! I'm not just a helpless little kid! If you tell me to fight, I'll do my best, I promise! Maybe if I start practicing, I can defeat those people!"

"Whoa there, no practicing." Terry said quickly. "Violence is a valid option, but it's a _final_ option. It should only be used when there are no other options remaining."

Trinity nodded in acknowledgement, and Terry breathed a sigh of relief. _Phew. Hopefully I stopped that in time. While I'd like it if she could defend herself, it's no good if she becomes overly violent._

The child still looked sad, though. "It...just makes me upset to see someone hurt. Especially you, since I owe you so much."

"That's good, though. You're an empathetic kid, and that's a good trait to have." Terry told her. "I just want you to know that naive optimism isn't always the best. I want you to keep the good in your being, while still being ready for whatever the world throws at you."

"...I understand. I'll do my best."

Terry sighed again. "Well, now that I'm done talking, it's back to business. I don't have any work today, so I'd like to try one of my favorite pastimes with you."

Even after what had just happened, Trinity still smiled happily at this. "Yay!"

 

_Ten minutes later…_

"Ack! What just happened? I...gaaaah!"

Trinity furiously mashed the keyboard as her character plummeted off the stage and exploded violently. Across from her, Terry laughed from behind another laptop as the victory fanfare played from his screen.

"Y-you're good." Trinity said quietly, accepting defeat. "I could never hope to beat someone like you…"

"Well, I've been playing this game for quite some time now." Terry offered. "Maybe someday, you'll become good enough to beat me."

Since Terry was such an avid gamer, he had decided to teach Trinity how to play some of the games he owned. His attempt to teach her chess had ended in disaster, so he had decided to show her something easier, namely one of his fighting games. And as much as he knew that Trinity had literally no clue about any of these games, he still couldn't really wrap his mind around the idea of going easy on her.

Trinity stared at the character select screen. "These people have weapons...they swing around all of those cool looking things."

"That's right." Terry told her. "All of them use really cool looking weapons. If you look up their weapon concepts, they become even cooler."

Trinity smiled. "Terry, what would it be like to use a weapon?"

Terry frowned. "Uh...I wouldn't know, I haven't tried. I see people using weapons all the times in movies and games, though, so I suppose it'd be kinda cool, if not dangerous. Trinity, what weapon here do you like the most?"

Trinity's answer was instant. "A scythe!"

"...Why?"

"Just because!" Trinity exclaimed, nodding as if that were a valid answer. "I'm a ghost, right? And a ghost would look cool with a scythe! It'd be super scary!"

"...Okay, whatever floats your boat."

Terry turned around to pack up his computer, only to hear a shimmering sound behind him. "Trinity, is something the matter…"

He trailed off as he turned towards her. Floating a couple centimeters off the floor, Trinity was brandishing a glowing scythe in her hands. The weapon was taller than she was (but still shorter than Terry) and made of pale blue light. He couldn't determine how sharp it was, but Terry could feel the scythe humming energetically, as if it were electrically charged.

And of course, there was the fact that Trinity had suddenly gotten her hands on an honest-to-god _scythe._

Terry turned pale as he backed up against the wall, knocking over a chair in the process. At the sight of this, Trinity tilted her head. "Do I look cool?"

"Whoa, hold on just one second!" Terry yelled incredulously. "How did you even...how did you just do that? Did you... _create_ that?"

Trinity blinked. "I…"

She looked at the glowing weapon grasped in her hands. "I...don't know. I just thought it would be cool to have a weapon...and it just appeared." She experimentally lowered the blade of the weapon onto an orange, and both of them flinched as they saw the scythe slice through it like it was made of water. "It looks...dangerous."

Terry steadied his breathing. "Well, that's because it is. Can you put that away?"

Trinity willed it to vanish, her eyes widening as it actually did. "Okay...that was really weird."

"Just...try not to do that again." Terry told her. "I can see the use in being able to just...create a weapon like that, but it's pretty unsafe."

Trinity nodded. "I understand. I promise to use it only when I have to!"

Terry sighed with relief. _Thank god she's pretty responsible. I know that getting these powers wasn't her choice, but only someone responsible should wield power like that…_

"Look, Terry!" Trinity called. "Wanna see me cut these apples?"

_...Or not. God have mercy._

 

_That night…_

Terry leaned on the restaurant table, immersed in the article he was reading on his phone. On the other side of the table, Trinity was happily slurping up the bowl of ramen noodles that Terry had gotten her. Terry had long since finished his noodles - Trinity had just taken a very long time staring at the noodles in awe when they first arrived, as if transfixed by their admittedly-tantalizing scent. Terry had begun to notice that although she was generally interested in everything, Trinity seemed to show a particular interest in food - he had checked her search history out of suspicion that afternoon, and a large number of the things she had looked up were about food.

Within due time, Trinity finished the noodles. Terry paid the waiter, put on his jacket again, and walked out of the warm restaurant and into the wintry night.

Trinity shivered a bit, but had a smile on her face. "Thank you so much for that! Those noodles were really good!"

"Don't mention it." Terry replied. "I wanted to go to that place tonight, anyways. It seems like you're really interested in food, are you not?"

"Oh, of course I am!" Trinity exclaimed. "If I could, I'd go all over the place, trying out everything! There are so many different types of food I found on the internet! It's a shame that costs exist…"

Terry was about to say something, but something in the distance caught his eye. As he squinted, he saw a large group of teens walking down the sidewalk towards him, led by a familiar but unwelcome face.

_Oh, not this crap again._

"Trinity, go invisible." the boy said urgently, as Trinity did just that.

One minute, and he was face-to-face with Mark for the second time in the day. He had known that Mark's gang frequently went on nighttime excursions - no doubt for questionably legal purposes - but it was just bad luck to encounter them tonight, after he had already fought them once earlier in the day. Mark stared at him with a smug glare, as if he were some kind of lesser being. Terry returned the stare, gazing at him with a kind of apathetic fury.

"Well, look who we have here." Mark began slowly. "Good old Terry, all alone at night. This must be our lucky day."

As his gang sneered at their target, Terry slowly surveyed them. "Well, yes, it is your lucky day. If you were looking for more injuries, that is."

Watching invisibly, Trinity was a bit scared by the look in Terry's eyes. Normally, Terry's expression tended to be curious at best and apathetic at worst. But now, there was a contained but unbridled fury in his eyes - a fire that sought to burn and obliterate every one of his oppressors. It was like he was barely holding back from lashing out at his attackers and trying to beat them beyond the point of recognition.

Mark burst into laughter. "That's funny! I suppose it's not too uncommon to see you alone - you're not much of a social type. But if you think you've been winning those scraps, think again. We'll just keep getting up, again, and again. You can win one battle, but you'll eventually lose the war - and I'll personally see that your feisty spirit is extinguished, once and for all."

As the members of the gang roughly shoved Terry into the alleyway, he considered the mentality of his foe. _It's just fight, after fight, after fight, isn't it? Mark doesn't seem to want anything else other than to harm and subjugate everyone he sees. He just fights for domination, and the pure thrill of it - and these poor, lost people still follow him out of fear, or because they want a taste of his power. This guy...is a brute, nothing more. It's a wonder he hasn't been caught yet._

As they slammed him into the wall, he felt the air charge with an unseen energy. Without even looking, he knew that Trinity was already nearing her breaking point from seeing Terry cornered and menaced like this. It wasn't long before she personally intervened, whether he wanted it or not.

However, externally, Terry just sighed and checked his watch. "Hey, I'd like it to get home soon. Can you make this quick?"

Mark grinned sadistically. "As you say. First of all, I'm in a bit of a need for some cash. For your own good, I hope you have some to spare."

Terry stared at him flatly, which apparently enraged some of the nearest goons to the point where they rushed at him, fists raised. Several blocks and a flurry of punches later, and the teens were doubled over in pain, Terry's knuckles stained red.

He looked at his bloodied fist and laughed a bit. There it was again - the rush that came with exacting revenge on those who threatened him. He knew it wasn't healthy, but...it was hard to suppress.

"Damn fools." Terry growled. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of a...peaceful negotiation?"

He pulled out his wallet and, with a smug grin on his face, turned it upside down. A measly ten cents fell out and clattered to the floor.

Slowly, Mark bent down and picked it up. He didn't show it in his face, but Mark was clearly enraged - Terry could tell because of his intensified breathing. Also, Mark was known to have the temper of a vial of nitroglycerin.

"You...you planned this, didn't you." Mark said, drawing out each word.

Terry shrugged, with the intention of angering him further. _I actually didn't, but it'll drive Mark up the wall if he thinks I did. He's never been able to accept the fact that there are people smarter than him._

Suddenly, Mark reared back and punched at Terry's head. He ducked to the left, Mark's fist colliding with the solid brick wall behind him. Mark grit his teeth and withdrew his fist, his knuckles now bleeding. "You...you may not have any cash, but you have to be carrying something of value. Guys, search him."

"Can't you just call this a robbery?" Terry asked boredly.

Mark laughed. "If it makes you feel better, then go right ahead."

To their surprise, Terry actually wasn't carrying anything of value. Even his clothes and his watch were cheap and wouldn't even be worth taking. Then one of the goons pulled up his sleeve, revealing a makeshift bracelet on his wrist. A glowing blue gem was embedded in its center.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Mark chuckled. "I wonder where you got this from? Did someone make it for you? It probably wasn't your so-called friends, and certainly not your nonexistent parents."

The rest of his gang sniggered like that was the funniest joke in the world.

However, Terry chuckled. Then, he laughed. "My guy, this thing is one hell of a gemstone. I wouldn't recommend touching it, though. There's someone who would probably get _real_ angry if you did that…"

Mark scoffed. "Stop it with your weird delusions, already. Nobody will care if I take this…"

As he reached over to grab the gem, he flinched as it pulsed with a fiery light. Then, Trinity shimmered into existence before them, her form crackling with pale flares of ghostly-blue energy.

"What?" Mark yelled, in shock at this sudden appearance.

Terry floated to the ground and slowly walked up to the stunned gang with open arms. "Hey. I'm just here to ask you to stop hurting Terry. No need for any fighting or anything. Why can't we just all walk away from this?"

Mark got over his initial shock and loomed over the smaller girl, his baleful glare exuding conceited superiority. "And who's going to stop me? You?"

Trinity tried for a smile. "Hey, I'm just trying to protect him, so I guess you're right. I'm new to this whole protecting thing, so it'd be nice if you could just-"

The girl was cut off when Mark hauled back and struck her with a brutal punch to her face. Screaming in pain, Trinity flew backwards and slammed into the wall with a crunch, slumping to the floor.

Mark lowered his fist and smiled. Then, he laughed. "Terry! I don't know what happened, but that's a real nice protector you've got there!"

To his surprise, Terry smiled. "Just give her some time. She's new to this."

Just as he said this, Trinity staggered to her feet, panting as overwhelming pain flowed through her body. "So this...is real pain. Caused by another person...with malicious intent. This...is what Terry...taught me."

She stared down Mark and his gang, her eyes beginning to burn with anger. "You...Terry's told me about you...I don't know if you're aware of this, but you're causing Terry so much pain...and he didn't even do anything wrong. I...can't watch you do that. So...I'll have to step in...and help him. It's only fair after what he's done for me. Terry...you said not to use this unless I have to...I'm sorry."

And with that, the glowing scythe from before materialized in her hands. Mark's gang backed up in surprise as Trinity pointed the scythe at them, its sharpness practically audible as it hummed with magical energy.

Terry casually walked over to the alleyway entrance, blocking off his foes' only escape route. "Trinity?"

The spirit looked at him.

"No maiming, no dismemberment, and _especially_ no killing."

Trinity smiled determinedly. "Okay!"

As the edge of Trinity's scythe turned blunt, he added another direction to that list.

"But make sure that they regret ever having messed with me."

 

Trinity hurled herself at her enemies, eyes alight with a fervent glow. Two of the teens raised their fists to strike at her, only for her to knock them off their feet with a low sweep of her weapon. As the two of them crashed to the floor, a girl dashed at her from behind, and she turned around before swinging the scythe straight in between her eyes, instantly knocking her out cold. Even with a blunt edge, the weapon was still a weapon - and Trinity was striking far harder than she initially let on. Even though she normally wasn't very strong, she could feel some kind of energy coursing through her, enhancing her physical abilities.

_Is this...part of the power that Terry and Vincent say I have?_

She slammed another goon into a wall, before ramming another in the stomach with the scythe's handle. The weapon weighed almost nothing to her, allowing Trinity to twirl it around to her heart's content. Swinging wildly, Trinity struck down the next dozen goons simultaneously, their limp bodies crumpling to the floor.

As a boy rushed at her with his fists raised, Trinity dodged both of his punches with little effort. Then, she swung her scythe upwards, catching him in the groin and sending him flying into the air. As the unfortunate boy crashed to the ground, she swung again, knocking over another boy who had tried to grab her. As the boy struggled to his feet, Trinity hauled back and prepared to swing again. However, the boy raised his hands. "No! Please, have mercy!"

Trinity immediately stopped attacking and helped him to his feet. "Ah, I knew you guys weren't unreasonable! Now, do you want to walk away and stop bothering us? That'd be nice!"

The boy got to his feet...then immediately grabbed Trinity by the throat. Trinity made a strangled choking noise as he pinned her to the wall, before raising his other fist and repeatedly punching her in the face. Throughout the whole experience, Trinity just stared straight at him as she was pummeled, confused tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

A couple meters away, Terry grabbed the head of one of the goons who had tried to flee, kneeing him in the face before flipping him onto his back hard enough to temporarily paralyze him. Looking over to see Trinity getting beaten up, he sighed. _Trinity, this is another lesson. Pleas for mercy may not be genuine._

Trinity was stunned. "Why...you asked for my mercy, and I gave it to you…"

"Then you're an idiot!" the boy yelled triumphantly, slamming her head into the wall again. A normal person might have had their skull fractured by that, but Trinity just seemed to be a bit jarred.

However, to his surprise, Trinity's teary-eyed expression transformed into a furious glare. Dissolving her scythe, Trinity grabbed the hand that pinned her to the wall, slowly forcing it off of her neck. As the boy stared incredulously, Trinity headbutted him hard enough to break his nose, sending him reeling. As he tried to recover, Trinity recreated her scythe and struck him with a vertical slash that knocked him out instantly.

As the remaining enemies charged her, Trinity's eyes dripped with furious tears. "When Terry told me about how horrible some people were...I didn't believe it at first. I didn't believe that people like the ones he had described could exist. But now...I see that it's true...and I hate it!"

She charged into the fray with the relentless fury of a person who had just had their ideals shattered, attacking ruthlessly and striking blows that would have been lethal if her weapon hadn't been blunted. "I don't understand! You just want to hurt people! Nobody's wronged you...so why?"

As she struck down the last couple of gang members and pinned Mark to the wall with her blade, she continued screaming even as she repeatedly pummeled him with the handle of her scythe. "I was willing to let you go...but you just wanted to hurt me more after I offered you peace! Why are you like this? Why...why do you exist?"

As she slashed and sent Mark flying across the alleyway, the final gang member leapt on her from behind and pinned her to the ground. Trinity grabbed him by the wrist and flipped him onto his back, before getting up and repeatedly striking him with her scythe. With every strike, she tearfully repeated the same phrase.

"Why do you exist? Why do you exist? _Why do you exist?!"_

Down but not out, Mark crawled away from the furious spirit and inched towards the entrance to the alleyway. However, the light at the end of the alleyway was cut off by a shadow. Looking up, he saw Terry standing over him, staring at him impassively.

Even in such a pathetic state, Mark grit his teeth and glared at him, attempting to grab at his leg and pull him down with him.

Terry gave him a smile of pity. "Not one to beg, huh? Well, that's respectable, I guess. But anyways...that's it. I have nothing more to say to you, except for a piece of advice. _Don't you dare screw with me again."_

And with that, he kicked him in the face, knocking him out cold.

Once Trinity was sure that her final opponent was unconscious, the ghostly child suddenly became aware of how tired she was after her emotional outburst. Her scythe clattering to the floor and dissolving, Trinity leaned against the nearest wall, panting as she tried to stem the flow of tears from her eyes. "All of you...please forgive me for what I've done to you."

Within time, the tears all dissolved into blue light as her breathing stabilized. Then, she looked at Terry. "I'm sorry...I know you said not to use my weapon, but…"

She trailed off as a smile tugged at the edges of Terry's lips. Then, he started laughing. It started off as a small chuckle, but eventually he was practically beaming, laughing like a kid who had received a birthday present. He was happier than Trinity had ever seen him - and seeing her caretaker this happy made Trinity burst into laughter as well. Soon, the two of them were leaning against the wall together, smiling and laughing like it was a bright summer day instead of an adrenaline-charged winter night.

 _Oh, he's so happy!_ Trinity thought. _Was that me? Did I make him this happy? That means if I fight well when I need to...if I fight when he needs it...Terry will smile!_

Trinity kept laughing, because she felt like she had made her caretaker proud. She was determined to do it again, whenever the opportunity arose.

Terry kept laughing because of the dark thrill that had overtaken his heart - the one that relished the fact that they had put those scumbags in their place.

And as they walked home silently, the two of them kept smiling, but for different reasons.

 

_An hour later…_

Trinity slumbered on the couch as Terry packed the next day's lunch. The child had collapsed the moment she had gotten back, which he thought was pretty reasonable. She had done a lot that night - for someone who barely knew what fighting was, her combat efficiency was almost scary.

He sighed. He didn't want to see Trinity as a weapon. He really didn't. But in his heart, he knew that she technically was - a force that would lash out in order to protect him. He knew Trinity did this on her own volition, and he appreciated her care - but seeing the normally sweet Trinity get so violent for his sake shook him a bit. But on the other hand...she had helped him fend off Mark's gang. No, she had _crushed_ them. So...she could actually fight…

_It feels wrong. But it works. Argh, too many conflicting thoughts. Too much adrenaline. Maybe when I have a clear mind, I'll rethink this._

Looking at the news feed on his phone, he saw that Mark and his gang had been found and apprehended by police, where Mark was being convicted of numerous crimes that he had previously gotten away with unnoticed. Mark had tried to fabricate a story, but the members of his gang had actually ratted him out on the spot.

Terry laughed darkly. _Serves you right. This is what happens when your so-called "friends" aren't actually loyal to you. They must have been waiting for this moment._

Suddenly, Trinity gasped and sat up, panting heavily.

Terry slowly walked over to her side. "What's wrong?"

Trinity took deep breaths. "I...I just had the most horrible dream."

"If it's okay, can I hear about it?" Terry asked. "I'm curious as to what you would dream about."

Trinity slowed her breathing, but tears were still forming in her eyes. "I...I dreamt that I was on a computer. And I had so many chats open, but...but...all of them were from people sending me horrible messages. They were sending me so many mean things, Terry...things that made me want to curl up and vanish."

Terry was about to ask her why she didn't just fight them too, but he shook the excess adrenaline out of his system. _That might be my way, but it's not hers._

She wiped the tears out of her eyes. "Please don't let these be my past memories...I don't want the story of my past to be a sad one…"

Terry didn't know how to comfort her. "Well...it's over now. Do you need anything?"

Trinity gazed up at him. "Can you...can you give me a hug?"

"...Why?"

"...I'm cold, and I'm scared. Scared that my dream could have been real."

Terry stared at her apathetically, causing her to hang her head in disappointment. However, her eyes widened as she felt Terry lean in close and envelop her in a hug.

Terry's expression was as dull as usual, but he still hugged her tightly. "Apparently...this is what an ideal caretaker figure would do."

Trinity was stunned, slowly returning the hug as tears returned to her eyes. "It's so warm...so this is what a person feels like. This is what it's like to be human…"

Terry hadn't hugged someone in many years, and the unfamiliar action ignited a spark within his cold heart. And at that moment, he was stricken with a epiphany - one that he wasn't sure why he hadn't realized before. _Taking care of someone...making someone happy…_

_...It actually feels good._

After a bit, Terry tried to pull away, but Trinity clung onto him. "Trinity, let go of me."

"...Just a bit longer…"

Terry sighed as he realized that he might be here for a while.

He didn't try to push her off, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First fight scene I've done in a while. My friend kept freaking out whenever I mentioned Trinity and her spooky scary scythe thing. Also, I'm trying to learn how to make more noticeable flaws in my characters, so Terry is my test platform for that.
> 
> Also, I had just started watching _The Rising of the Shield Hero_ , and it's really damn good. I was surprised at how close its main characters were to the plans for my own main characters, so I'm probably going to use it for some of my inspiration from now on.


	5. Reminiscence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> GOD THIS FEELS LIKE IT TOOK FOREVER
> 
> At least I didn't fail exams ayyyyyyy

Trinity was alone, lying down under a tree on a grassy hill. Around her were rolling green hills stretching beyond the eye could see. It was nighttime, and the sky above her formed a deep navy tapestry, intertwined with glowing stars.

She was dreaming again. That was something that Trinity knew. But it really didn't feel like a dream. She felt like she was really there, under a tree, looking up at the stars.

Then, the sky shimmered and warped like it had become a mirror. Then, she saw the same blonde-haired girl from her last dream within the distortion. She was being led to what appeared to be a school, two people who looked like her parents holding her hands.

Trinity raised her hand, which froze the images like a video that had been paused. Then, she instinctively swiped to the left, starting it again. _Huh. It really is just like a video._

As she advanced the vision playing before her eyes, a spark surfaced in her mind. Upon seeing that child walk into the school, the vision implanted itself into her mind, transforming into something more...a _memory._

Trinity gasped. She wasn't sure how, but at that moment, she _knew._ That wasn't some random dream. It was burned into her mind now...she knew where it had come from.

_That's...me? I used to look like that? These are my memories...I'm sure of it. They've...returned?_

Trinity kept scrolling through them, each scene she saw filling in another piece of the jigsaw puzzle within her mind. She should have been overjoyed...but she was disheartened instead.

The vision shifted to a crowded classroom, where the blond girl was prancing around. "Hi, I'm Trinity!" she said energetically to a group of children, practically bouncing her emerald eyes sparkling with glee. "Nice to meet you!"

The children stared at her like she was an alien. "...Okay?"

The vision shifted rapidly as Trinity scrolled through it. Time and time again, the girl would approach her classmates and introduce herself, her heart full of youthful vigor. However, all of her classmates would either respond with confusion or just ignore her. Her energy was boundless - overwhelming, even. Trinity hadn't noticed it then, but Terry had taught her the reason for their reaction - if you were too energetic towards someone, it would wrap around to being annoying.

_But still…I didn't know better at the time..._

Years passed, and even as the girl grew older, her attitude didn't seem to have matured much. However, her peers' attitudes had changed. What had once been confusion or indifference had turned into annoyance and contempt. Apparently her generation was really intolerable of this kind of stuff.

The girl approached a group of kids who were playing tag. "Hey! What're you doing? That looks fun! Can I play?"

"No. Leave us alone!" a boy had yelled, directing the group to run away from her.

As the kids ran, the girl was left all alone. "...Okay."

Trinity paused the video, numb from all of the memories flooding into her mind. She could now clearly remember her thoughts at that moment. _What am I doing wrong? The teachers won't help me...they already said that I'm a "disruptive" student! If only mom and dad weren't so busy at work nowadays...if only they could give me more advice!_

As the vision progressed, she saw the girl all alone on a hill, crying as she watched all of the kids play without her. _Why am I alone? Why is everyone rejecting me? Do they...do they all hate me that much?_

Then a peculiar boy had approached her. "Hey...are you crying? Why are you crying?"

The girl kept sobbing.

The dark-haired boy knelt down to her level, his eyes filled with pity. "Hey. Look at me. There's no need to be sad."

The blonde girl looked up with teary eyes. "Why not? Nobody will play with me...I'm going to be alone forever…"

"Hey, don't be that way." the boy said, getting up and extending a hand. "Life will get better, I promise. What's your name?"

The girl hesitantly took it. "Trinity...my name is Trinity…"

As the boy helped her to her feet, he smiled. "That's a cool name. Mine is…"

The vision blurred and sped up before he could say it.

Trinity stared at the rippling sky, but the strange child's appearance was already turning murky in her mind. She remembered the experience of having a friend for some time. It was like a fire had started in her spirit, giving her the warmth that she so desperately craved.

But two years later, her friend had vanished. Only to be seen through occasional text messages on the online chat she used. The vision skipped ahead, and Trinity saw an image of herself using said online chat. She was smiling as she typed. "Oh, notifications! I messaged so many people...I wonder if anyone's replied to me?"

She looked at them...and her face fell. Reply after reply raked at her heart, until she had been nearly broken by her schoolmates' words. It wasn't long before she was curled up in a ball on the couch, silently crying into a pillow and wishing she could just vanish.

She wanted someone to hug her and tell her it was okay, to tell her she was wanted. But her parents were at work again, and her caretaker was a quiet type who wasn't one for hugs.

_It was real..._

Years passed, and the girl slowly started to give up. Evidently, nobody liked her...so, she had given up on trying to befriend them, or even acknowledging their existence. Her waking moments had become a daze - eating alone, playing alone, and only interacting with others for group projects. By that time, to her schoolmates, her perceived obnoxiousness had gone down quite a bit - so they were actually a bit more willing to accept her now. But by then, it was too late. The broken girl rarely even had the motivation to even try and start a conversation.

In the present, Trinity was stunned. _Is this my past? But it's so sad...I don't want my past to be a sad story. I don't like this. I already wish that...it had never existed._

But her spirit hadn't been extinguished. It had just been buried. It was still waiting for a time when it could shine once more.

The vision blurred and fast-forwarded again. Now, the girl was sprawled out under a tree. Her verdant eyes were clouded, staring aimlessly at the cloudless sky above. Her face was fixated in an apathetic frown.

_Nothing to do...as usual. Hmm...I wonder what I'll do with my future...my life..._

Then a voice had roused her from her stupor. "Hey there. You must be one of our new neighbors. What's your name?"

The girl looked up, her eyes meeting with those of a middle-aged couple. "My...name is Trinity."

Before Trinity could take control of the vision again, it went into overdrive. Suddenly, countless images flooded her mind - ones depicting a period of time where this couple had showed her kindness, and as a result she had instantly latched onto these new acquaintances. Soon, the couple had become the friends that Trinity so desperately needed - even though they weren't here that often.

Trinity recalled innumerable details about her newly-discovered neighbors - how they had shared so many things with each other, the first time they had met her parents, and all of the times they had played with her when nobody else would.

Yet she had never understood why they had acted so skittish around basically everyone - even her, to a certain extent. It wasn't like everyone was out to get them, right?

As a final memory surfaced, Trinity flinched as the memory struck her with an almost physical force. She remembered when the couple had showed her their young son for the first time. The memory was murky, but she could recall the son's name.

Terry.

The son's name had been Terry.

 

The images in the sky blurred again. The vision was replaced by another scene of the blonde girl under a tree. Her school life was still nothing short of depressing, and her normal life wasn't much better. But hey, at least she had two "friends" now.

But on that day, nobody was around to talk with. The couple was out of town again, and they had told her it'd be three days until they came back. So, she had idly sat down in the grass, picking dandelions and playing with them.

Then, a pair of sharp-dressed men had approached her and knelt down to her eye level. "Hey, kid."

The girl looked up. "Um...what is it?"

One of the men cleared his throat. "You're friends with that couple living around here, right? We're employees from your parents' company, and we want-"

"Oh, you are? Well, can you tell your boss to let them come home more often?"

The man was stunned, but ignored her question. "Anyways, we're looking for that couple, and we feel like you might know where they are now."

The girl laughed. "Oh, they said they're out of town now, but they told me that they'll be back for a bit in...uh, three days?"

The man's eyes widened as his partner typed something on his phone. "And they just...told you that? They must trust you a lot!"

The girl smiled. "We're good friends!"

The other man signaled to his partner, beckoning him to leave. "Okay, thank you for your time. We'll be off now-"

"Hey, don't go just yet!"

The men looked at each other and sighed. "...You look kind of lonely. Alright, since you've helped us out, I guess we can entertain you a bit."

So, after about ten minutes of playing children's games with the girl, the two men thanked her and left.

However, mere minutes later, another pair of strange men approached her. This time, they were wearing fancy-looking robes instead of formal suits - one black, one white. The black-robed man knelt down in front of her and began speaking. "Um...you there. Do you know where that...couple who lives in that house is?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that today?" the girl said, frowning. "They're out of town now, but will be back here in about three days."

The white robed man shook his head. "That easy?"

The girl looked at him quizzically.

The man cleared his throat. "Never mind. Thank you. You said others asked you this, no?"

"Yes…"

His cohort just gave him a sideways glance. "Never mind that. We leave now."

However, the white robed man saw the disappointed look in the lonely child's eyes and knelt down to her eye level. "You are sad, are you not, child? Here, take this."

He handed the girl a peculiar jewel, which she took tentatively. The crystal was the color of a wintery sky and glittered with a mysterious radiance. As the girl stared curiously at it, the man nodded. "This is a gem from where we live. We give this to you as thanks for helping us."

The girl looked at them. "Thank...you…"

As the two men took their leave, the girl became mesmerized by the peculiar jewel. It was unlike anything she had seen in her books - the jewel seemed to have a life of its own, sparks bursting to life and fading within its interior. _Where is this from?_

Before she knew it, the sun had begun to set. Pocketing the jewel, she ran back into her house before her caretaker could yell at her to get back in.

The vision shifted again. Now, the girl was standing at the corner of a house, staring at a sobbing figure hunched over beside the street. She recognized the figure as the couple's son, who was currently being attended by another caretaker.

"Come on, calm down." the caretaker told him exasperatedly. "What happened here?"

The young boy stared listlessly into the distance, tears flowing down his cheeks. "There were so many people...and they were fighting each other...and my parents were there! But...but...they took them! They took my parents and dragged them away! I saw them do it! Why would they do that?"

"Hey, kid. I know this is hard for you, but you need to calm down." the caretaker said, taking his hand. "There's nothing we can do now. Let's go inside. I'm going to go call the authorities, and we're going to look into this tomorrow, okay?

The boy shook his head, reaching out into the distance and screaming even as his caretaker led him back into the house. "They took my parents away! Come back here! They were just about to return, too...I don't want to be alone again! Bring them back! _Bring them back!"_

Trinity's heart nearly stopped as a sudden burst of memories assailed her again. Everything came back to her - the horrific realization that her neighbor's parents had been targeted somehow. And those people that had asked her about them...she had no doubt that they were a part of this.

 _That's why they always acted so paranoid,_ she had thought. _That's why they're always leaving to different places and returning randomly. They trusted me...told me when they would be coming back, just so I could wait for them. And...I gave it away._

_...This is my fault._

_That poor kid might never see his parents again because of me._

 

As Trinity began hyperventilating at all of these sudden revelations, the vision went into fast-forward again. Suddenly, she was thrust into the perspective of the girl after what seemed like a couple of days. She was panting as she dashed through a rainy night, her shoes splashing in puddles. Judging from the reignited memories in Trinity's mind, the girl had already learned enough to make a decision. While she had no idea who the hooded people were, she had somehow learned that the company that her parents worked for wasn't just some random factory - it was an undercover _crime syndicate._ One that had been targeting her neighbors for some unknown reason. And despite the fact that her parents worked for them...the girl's sense of justice was stronger. Perhaps if she had been a bit closer to her parents, her decision would have been different, but now her mind had been made up. _Directly or not, I helped cause this. It's only fair that I should help end it._

She ran along the sidewalks and lonely streets, heading towards the nearest police station. _I know who they are. I can bring them to justice!_

Those naive thoughts raced through her mind as the station came into view...only for a hand to grab her wrist from behind.

The girl froze. Slowly, she turned around to see the man that had asked her about her neighbors' whereabouts a couple days earlier. Several similarly sharp-dressed men stood behind him, glaring at her impassively.

The man stared at the girl with a mixture of anger and pity. "The boss was right to have us keep an eye out for you. Now that you've figured out the truth, you're a dangerous threat to our organization. It's a shame you're just a kid, but we've got to do what the boss tells us to."

The girl didn't scream, but she still struggled and kicked as the men grabbed her roughly and put a gag over her mouth. Watching all of this in transfixed horror, Trinity stared helplessly as the girl was forcibly seated in the back of an old van and driven off to who-knows where. Apparently the girl had fallen asleep on the ride, because when the vision resumed again she was sprawled out on the floor of what looked like a metallic, underground chamber, with what seemed like a metal helmet strapped to her head. Countless people surrounded her, all of them staring at her like she was some kind of small animal that they were wondering how to butcher.

An elderly man, who was evidently the leader, stepped forward and undid the gag covering the girl's mouth. As she coughed and sputtered, the man gave the girl a twisted grin as he saw her getting up and immediately tensing, her fight-or-flight instincts flaring to life. "This one's a fighter. You guys have raised one hell of a kid."

The girl withheld a scream as she saw her parents in the crowd.

Her mother didn't move, while her father shuffled nervously. "With all due respect, sir...you've given us so many assignments that we didn't have much time to raise her well."

The older man shrugged. "That's fair. You two are good workers, after all. You guys get away with pretty much everything. But this...what your daughter has done is unacceptable. And you two are partially to blame for telling her what you do here."

Her parents hung their heads in shame. "We're sorry, sir."

The man shook his head. "There is no purpose in punishing you. After all, your daughter must pay for what she's done. I think that it's punishment enough."

As the couple looked at him with horror, the blonde girl plucked up the courage to speak. "What...what happened to those two? What did you do to them?"

The man's face twisted into a grimace. "We captured them just in time. Those cultish madmen almost got their hands on them, too. They were fools for trusting anyone with their location...especially a child, who will basically do what they're told to."

The girl's fists clenched. "W-where are they? What did you want from them?"

"Oh, we didn't really want anything from them." the man said. "They were just always sticking their noses into our business, trying to expose us. And we can't have that happening, can we? So, anyways, after trying to extract all of the information we could from them, they refused to spill anything. So, they had no more use to us anymore."

"...And?"

"So, we disposed of them. Killed them."

The girl went pale. "W-what? K-k-killed?"

The man nodded, as if killing captured prisoners was just a normal occurrence for him. "We can't let them go, and they're no use to us captured. So, why the hell keep them here?"

Watching helplessly as the scene unfolded, Trinity began to feel sick to her stomach. _So Terry was right again...there are people that will kill others just because they disagree with them…_

Then, her eyes widened as she heard the man's next words.

"Oh, and same goes for you. No use captured, and definitely not someone we want to let go. We'll be getting rid of you shortly."

The girl practically froze on the spot. "Getting...rid of me?"

The man nodded.

Taking deep breaths, a tear traced down her cheek. "Am I...going to die?"

The man nodded again.

As the girl went pale and threw up from stress, her parents stepped forward desperately. "Pablo, please! There has to be some other way! You don't have to kill her!"

Pablo shook his head, gazing at the panicking child indifferently. "There are. But from my experience, nothing gets rid of a person quite as well as just killing them. And if it's the best way to do it, I'll go for it."

The girl was having a veritable panic attack. "N-no! I'm sorry! I don't wanna...please! All I wanted was...to…"

"And what you wanted, we cannot stand for." Pablo said, casually pulling a handgun out of his pocket and priming it. "You made the mistake of trying to expose us. Now you're going to pay for it."

The girl's eyes scanned the area desperately, searching for any way to escape the gruesome fate that awaited her. Noticing her parents standing nearby, she feebly reached out to them, her body already weakened by her crying and hyperventilating. "H-help! Please...help me! Tell them they're wrong!"

But in her parents' eyes, she saw nothing but horror and helplessness. It was painfully clear that they desperately wanted to do something to save their child, but it was like there was an invisible force rooting them in place and forcing them to watch. It was clear that they were bound to this malevolent man's will somehow - and said bindings seemed even stronger than physical ones.

The girl's heart broke as she slowly slumped to the floor. There was nobody in the room that could help her. Not even her own parents had the power to save her. This was the end to her life. This was where she would die.

Trinity stared helplessly through her past self's eyes as she felt tears coming to her eyes. _So this...is how it ended._

As several men grabbed her arms and Pablo aimed the gun at her chest, all she could do was hang her head, resigned to her fate.

"...No…no...I...I'll be good...I promise...just...please..."

Trinity tried to close her eyes. _I can't watch! I can't watch! Please, don't let me see it! I don't want to see it!_

But the vision wouldn't let her close her eyes.

A blinding flash, a deafening crack. A sharp jolt of unimaginable pain in her chest, then duller pain surging through her body as she collapsed on the floor. The apparatus on her head clanked and whirred as it hit the ground. Trinity's breathing slowed as she saw blood pooling on the ground through her foggy vision. She was vaguely aware of the tears falling from her face, mingling with the blood.

Then there was another gunshot, and it all turned to nothing.

Trinity fell into a pitch-black abyss, one devoid of all sensation.

Then it happened again...and again...and again.

Trinity screamed and cried, but the vision kept repeating the moment that her life was snuffed out, like her subconscious had a morbid fascination with the feeling of death. The moment of sudden pain, then the horrible, uncanny feeling of fading into nothing. It was something that every person was only supposed to experience once...but Trinity was being forced to relive it over and over again.

"Stop...stop! Stop! Stop this!" Trinity cried, having lost control of her own dream and her own mind. "I don't want this anymore! I don't want to die! _I don't want to die!"_

One last gunshot rang out, and everything vanished into cold, numb darkness.

 

"Gaaaah!"

Trinity's eyes snapped open as she gasped for breath. Her eyes were wild and unfocused, her breathing unstable.

"Trinity!" Terry practically shouted, grabbing Trinity's arms and shaking her. "Wake up, kid! You're gonna be okay!"

Stabilizing her breathing, Trinity blinked and returned to her senses. She wasn't on any hill. She was back where she had fallen asleep last night, in her usual position on Terry's couch. Speaking of Terry, the teen was now sitting beside her, concern visible in his tired eyes.

"W-what…" Trinity groaned, shaking her head. "What happened?"

"Trinity...you just started crying and mumbling in your sleep." Terry told her slowly. "All that noise woke me up. Not going to lie, seeing you like that scared the hell out of me. I was worried that you had gotten sick somehow. Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Trinity stared at him, before shaking his head. "N-no...I'm fine. It was nothing."

Terry frowned. "You sure it was nothing? That seemed like one hell of a nightmare you were having there. These dreams of yours seem to keep getting more and more intense."

"No...I'm fine."

Terry sighed. "Damn. Then I suppose I shook myself awake for no reason, huh? It's the start of the winter break...I really would have liked to sleep in."

"S-sorry…"

The boy shook his head. "I was joking. If you need anything, just make sure to tell me, okay?"

"...Okay."

As Terry yawned and opened his laptop, Trinity silently stared at the brightening light of dawn. Her mind was still trying to figure out how to cope with the experience of having an entire lifetime of memories forcibly uploaded into it - and within the span of a night, too. But those were her memories. She was sure of it. They had returned.

_...But I already wish those memories weren't mine._

Looking over at Terry, she felt like ice was creeping through her veins. _Terry's gotten a lot nicer recently. I knew he was softer on the inside. But now that I know...what I did to him in the past…_

She closed her eyes tight and hugged herself. _Do I even have a right to accept his care anymore? I'm the reason...that he's an orphan. I'm the reason that he's had to be alone for all of this time. Would he even forgive me...for something like that? Could I even forgive myself for something like that?_

Trinity had half a mind to tell him the truth right then and there. But something else had awakened within her - a sense of self-preservation, triggered after being forced to relive the experience of her death so many times. That indescribable feeling of fading into oblivion...Trinity was now unspeakably terrified of it.

For all of his good traits, Trinity had still seen how ruthlessly Terry dealt with those who wronged him. And intentionally or not, a past Trinity had wronged him in a way that no other person had. As much as she trusted him, Trinity couldn't help but feel a jab of fear as she looked at the wristband he was wearing, which held her core crystal. She had made it for him as an experiment and a token of gratitude...but now just looking at the crystal embedded in its center gave her chills. She was disturbed at how fragile her lifeline seemed, but she was even more disturbed by how easily she could see Terry destroying it in a fit of rage if he found out the truth. And if her crystal broke...

_I don't want to die again...I don't want to die again...I don't want to die again…_

Thus, Trinity decided to lock those unhappy memories within her heart for now. Eventually, Terry would likely find out - and Trinity would have to face her judgement. But for now…Trinity wanted to live a little longer. Despite everything her past self had endured, her present self was still hopeful.

_The world is a wonderful place...I want to stay here._

 

_Several hours later…_

As the pedestrian light counted down to zero, Terry and Trinity panted as they made a mad dash for the other side, ignoring the snow blowing into their faces. They had seen the pedestrian light counting down from nearly a street away, and had immediately broken into a sprint trying to get here before it hit zero. Making it across just in time, Trinity leaned against the nearest building and panted, while Terry just shook it off and kept walking. "We're almost there. Come on, you can rest later."

"Okay!" Trinity replied, resuming her walk. She was a bit thankful that Terry had finally convinced her to wear shoes, otherwise her feet would probably be frozen solid at this point. Admittedly, all she had created for herself were a pair of snowy-blue flats, but they were still better than nothing.

As the two of them walked at a more leisurely pace, Terry admired the snowy morning landscape. The cold tended to bother him quite a bit, but even he had to admit that winter could sometimes produce remarkable scenery. The sun shone down from a nearly cloudless sky, illuminating the layer of frozen snow covering the ground. The rays refracted off of the gently falling snow, making it look more like diamond dust.

"It's so pretty…" Trinity breathed, her breath turning to mist in the sub-zero air.

"You say this every time this happens." Terry replied. "But it really is."

Before long, they had arrived at their destination, which was a cafe that Jerry had recommended to them. Terry had thought that it'd be another good way to show Trinity what it was like to behave like a person. As they entered the warmth of the cafe, Trinity gazed around in wonder. She had never been to a cafe before, not even in her past life.

"Looks like there aren't too many people here." Terry said offhandedly. "No need to wait in a line. That's nice."

As Trinity ran up to the display, the cashier smiled at her. "Hey there. Is there anything you want?"

"Oh, I'm just looking for now." Trinity said. "All of these look really nice."

The cashier smiled at her compliment as Terry walked up to her. "It's your first time here, so just get what you feel looks good."

"It all looks good…" Trinity mused. "Can you help me?"

So, Terry decided to just order for her. He got her a chocolate chip muffin and a mug of hot chocolate, while he got a croissant and a small cup of coffee. Apparently he had made the right decision, because Trinity's eyes had lit up when he ordered. It was clear that she loved sugar, which wasn't too unusual for how young she seemed.

A few minutes later, and the two of them were seated at a small glass table by the window. As Trinity stared intently at her food as if to analyze every facet of it before eating it, Terry stared out the window, watching the cars go by as the wind blew waves of glistening snow along the ground.

Trinity took a bite of her muffin, before trying a bit of the hot chocolate. "They're sweet! This is good!"

"Yeah. I like this place." Terry said, as he took a bite out of his croissant. "It's a nice cafe. Jerry was right to recommend it to us."

The two of them fell silent again. Trinity was evidently bothered by something - Terry could tell by the wistful look in her eyes. He was surprised by the amount of concern that swelled within his heart. _I've really gotten into this whole idea of taking care of her, huh?_

Terry had never lived with any companionship after his parents vanished. But now, after becoming Trinity's caretaker...he couldn't help but wish he had gotten this experience earlier. While he had initially rejected the idea, the truth was that he felt _happy_ when he took care of her. The mysterious child had grown on him quite a bit during their time together, and only now did Terry realize how nice it was to have a companion. And after allowing himself to accept this feeling of companionship, Terry had begun to sense other feelings forming within him. Protectiveness. Concern. Pride.

_...Is this what it feels like to take care of a child? To act like a parent?_

Before Terry could finish that thought, Trinity spoke up. "...Terry?"

He nodded. "Hm?"

Trinity poked at her muffin. "Um...about the dreams I've been having…"

 _Oh boy._ Terry thought. "What about them? Feel free to tell me."

"Well, it's hard to explain, but...I feel like they're more than just dreams. I feel it deep in my heart - they're my _memories._ With every one of those dreams I have, I can feel more of my memory returning."

"That's...great, then." Terry offered, albeit a bit shocked. "What's there to worry about?"

Trinity looked down at her hot chocolate. "...The memories I see aren't happy ones. All of them are sad, depressing, scary…"

To Terry, that was a cause for concern. "That's...worrying. If it isn't too much, can I hear about what you've been dreaming about?"

Trinity tensed up a bit, and Terry immediately backed off. "Okay. It's fine if you don't want to tell me."

"I'm sorry." Trinity muttered. "I know you're trying to help me, but...I just don't feel ready yet. It was a lot to take in…"

"...Okay. I understand. But I don't want to see you too worried. Your memories are in the past...don't let them affect the present."

A few more moments of silence, and Trinity asked another question. "Hey."

"What?"

"...Am I still a person?"

Terry frowned. "What's with the sentimental questions again?"

Trinity sighed. "Like...I know that I used to be a human in another time. But now...I'm different. I can float. I can go invisible and intangible. I have all of these weird powers. I don't even look like anyone else. I'm just so...different. Can I even be called a human...or even a person?"

"Hey, I can assure you - whether you're a person or not doesn't matter about any of that. You're an individual - you have your own sense of self." Terry told her slowly. "People care about you: me, Jerry and the others, even the people at Vivid Clarity in their own way. If people acknowledge you as an individual, then you're a person."

Terry was mostly just making stuff up, but Trinity seemed touched by his words. "...Thank you…"

Terry tried for a small smile. "No problem. Now drink your hot chocolate, it's going to get cold."

The two of them were finishing their meals, when the door behind them opened noisily. Standing in the doorway was a middle-aged man wearing a thick brown trench coat and a fuzzy ushanka. His full beard was frosted with snow, and he was panting heavily like he had just run here. From underneath his coat, Terry could make out a police uniform. _An off-duty cop, maybe?_

The cashier gave him a glance and smiled. "Hey, Simon. How's life?"

The man just sighed. "It's been busy recently. I've had so much paperwork to do...not enough field assignments. A bit boring, but it's still honest work."

"Understandable, my guy." the cashier said, walking over to the coffee machine. "The usual, I assume?"

"Yep!"

The cashier snorted as he worked. "Man, you've got to tone down on the sugar and caffeine. You might live to regret it in the long run."

Simon laughed heartily. "Maybe, but for now I think I need it. I've got a long day ahead of me today."

"Admittedly, I can see where you're coming from."

As the strange man took a seat behind Terry and Trinity's table, Terry pulled out his phone and started typing.

Trinity tried to get a better look. "What are you doing?"

"Not playing a game, so sit down." Terry told her. As Trinity pouted and sat, Terry continued. "I'm just sending some more reports to Vincent."

"Hmm...I wonder why they're so interested in me."

Terry shrugged. "I don't know. Those Vivid Clarity people seem like a whole bunch of interesting people-"

Suddenly, the man behind them turned around and stared at them. "Did you say Vivid Clarity?"

Terry was a bit shocked. "Um...yes?"

Trinity just tried for a small wave.

The man overcame his shock and cleared his throat. "Very good! That's excellent! I'll try to explain this as fast as I can, but I believe that some introductions are in order." He pulled out a police badge and showed it to them proudly. "The name's Simon! I'm a cop that operates in this city."

"Er...hello." Terry offered. "Well...my name is Terry. This is Trinity. She's my...uh...younger sister."

Trinity was a bit stunned by his declaration, but played along with it. "Y-Yeah! Nice to meet you!"

Simon frowned. "Really? Forgive me, but you look nothing alike."

"Adopted." Terry added.

Trinity shot Terry a look of "I can't believe you've done this", but fortunately Simon didn't seem to notice. He just shrugged. "Eh, sure. Anyways, could you step outside? I'd like this conversation to be a little more private."

Terry shrugged. "A bit suspicious, but okay."

"B-but it's cold!" Trinity protested, already shivering in anticipation.

"Deal with it." Terry said bluntly. "Your fault for saying you didn't need a jacket."

Trinity pouted angrily, but didn't raise any further complaints. So, the three of them stepped outside.

Simon lowered his voice and leaned in closer. "You mentioned Vivid Clarity during your past conversation. Mind telling me what you have to do about it?"

"Well, uh…" Terry began, trying to fabricate a believable story. "They do some nice research there, and I was hoping to get some help for one of my school projects. I'm keeping in touch with a researcher there, and they're helping me out a lot."

Terry was already questioning the validity of his own story, but Simon seemed to buy it. "Hm. Okay. Well, just for clarification...you didn't happen to notice anything suspicious going on there, did you?"

 _Does he know?_ Terry thought as he made up another answer. "Um...no. Their work is really goddamn complicated, if that's what you mean."

Trinity just nodded, as if to add to Terry's point.

Simon looked around as if to check if anyone was listening, then lowered his voice to a whisper. "Okay. I'm not really supposed to tell you this, but I'm the head of an investigation regarding Vivid Clarity. We've been monitoring that company for a while now, and we've seen some things that are awfully suspicious."

"Oh, they could be just rumors…" Trinity offered.

"But they're not. We have some proof." Simon replied. "For starts, some of the things that they ship from overseas doesn't seem like the kind of stuff that a chemical and mechanical engineering company would purchase. In fact, we took a look at it, and it matches up with the required materials for constructing weapons."

Terry was stunned. "Wait, what?"

"Yep. This is only a minor investigation, since we have so little evidence. So, we're not allowed to get too nosy yet. But I have my suspicions - a mechanical engineering company would be the perfect cover for a secret weapons production line. Oh, I'm getting goosebumps!"

"Uh, okay." Terry said, a bit unnerved at his enthusiasm. "But...if there isn't a lot of proof yet...why are you telling us this?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you knew anything." Simon said. "But if you want my opinion, you should be careful around them. I'm not saying that they're bad people just yet, but I have my reasons to suspect them. Like, I know their current leader is a pretty nice guy, but his father Pablo _was_ a crime boss back in his day - and his manufacturing business seemed pretty honest, too. You never know what to expect."

Terry was about to make an incredulous remark about that statement, but his eyes turned towards Trinity. Her face was even paler than usual, she had her hands clasped over her mouth, and she seemed to be holding back screams.

"Trinity? What is it?" Terry asked.

Trinity didn't respond, simply trying to steady her breathing.

Simon seemed a little concerned, but went on. "It's a shame that we don't have any empirical evidence yet. HQ isn't willing to let us go all-in on this one - in fact, I'm fairly sure they don't actually believe us. But me and my team aren't giving up just yet. Even if it the rumors turned out to be false, I'd rather we waste time getting to the bottom of it than not think about it at all. If nobody tried finding the truth, and they turned out to be up to something...I won't let that happen."

"Er...okay." Terry said, visibly shaken. "Well, good luck. Sorry we couldn't give you any information."

"It's fine, Terry." Simon replied. "Thank you for your words, anyways. I've got to go now, but please take my advice - that company is suspicious. I'm not saying that you can't trust them at all...but, well, you can't trust them completely."

And with that, Simon bundled up and took off.

Terry and Trinity stood there in the cold, trying to ponder what had just happened.

 

_In the afternoon..._

"Thanks for inviting us over, Terry." Jerry said gratefully, entering the apartment and taking off his shoes.

"No problem." Terry replied, smiling. "It's the start of the winter break. I was just thinking of starting it off on a good note."

"You seem happier than usual!" Olivia noticed.

Terry laughed. "Well...I guess I really am. It's a shame Alberto couldn't come, though."

Jerry sighed. "Took me a while to badger my parents into letting me come, but I managed. I brought over all of the board games and other stuff you wanted. In case any of you want to study for a bit, I brought my notes, too."

"Oh, come on, Jerry!" Olivia said, a hint of exasperation in her voice. "It's the break! Enjoy it!"

"...Okay?"

Then, a sing-song voice drifted out of the nearest room. "Friends!"

As a silver-blue blur shot into view, Jerry just waved while Olivia spread her arms. "Oh, come here, you adorable little-"

Trinity dived straight at her and tackled her in a hug, nearly knocking Olivia over. "Olivia, Jerry...it's nice to see you again!"

Olivia laughed and pat her on the head. "It's great to see you too, kid!"

Jerry was a bit confused. "Since when did she get so strong? She nearly bowled Olivia over!"

Terry shrugged. "She really isn't, normally. I'm not sure how, but she's become able to temporarily augment her strength somehow. It's weird."

"It's not weird!" Trinity complained. "It's cool!"

The three of them just laughed.

As the visitors made themselves at home, Trinity cleared her throat and gave them a small bow. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Jerry and Olivia just stared at her.

Terry pointed towards a nearby kettle. "I've boiled some hot water over there. You can go and use it to make some hot chocolate. The powder's in the cupboard under the kettle."

Trinity smiled. "On it!"

As she started her task, Olivia gave Terry a strange look.

Terry frowned. "What? Is it wrong to teach someone how to greet guests?"

Before long, the four of them were sipping hot chocolate around the table as Jerry started a game of President. Trinity had expressed a desire to play as well, and Terry had briefly given her a run-down of the game's rules. As Jerry dealt the cards, Trinity's eyes followed along intensely, curious to where this was going.

The game started off normally. Olivia had the three of diamonds, so she played that first. Then, Terry followed up with a four of clubs. Then…

"I play three sixes!" Trinity yelled, slamming her cards onto the table.

The three friends looked at her incredulously.

Trinity's smile wavered. "What? What's wrong?"

"Trinity…" Terry said slowly, "You're not allowed to do that. You can't play triplets on singles."

"Ah...I'm sorry!" Trinity sputtered, withdrawing her cards. "I-I'll just play one six, then!"

The next couple of minutes went relatively normally. Then, as Terry played a pair of nines, Trinity pulled out half her hand and lay it out on the table. "You said this was a card combo or something! Well, I'm going to play it now!"

Jerry stared at it. It was a valid flush, but played at a wrong time. "Trinity, you're not allowed to do that either. We talked about this."

Trinity racked her mind to remember when Jerry had mentioned this. Then, as she remembered, she buried her face in her hands out of embarrassment. "I...I...I'm so sorry! I forgot! Maybe...I shouldn't be playing this..."

"Hey." Terry reassured her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Practice makes perfect. You'll get it eventually."

Trinity nodded thankfully and continued the game. Before long, Jerry gained control and steamrollered them with a series of consecutive combos.

Terry stared at him in shock and Trinity choked in surprise as Olivia threw her hands in the air. "Damn it! If I knew your hand was that good, I would have gone all-out earlier! Terry, why didn't you try to stop him?"

"I couldn't. My hand sucks." Terry told her.

"Then where the hell did the rest of the good cards go?" Olivia yelled.

Trinity gulped and tried to make herself look as small as possible.

Soon, the game was finished. Terry quickly got rid of his last three cards, and Trinity somehow pulled into third by brute-forcing it with her unreasonably powerful hand. Needless to say, even if Olivia obviously have a soft spot for the spiritual child, her displeasure was easily visible after that game.

As Jerry shuffled the deck again and Olivia complained loudly, Terry gathered their empty hot chocolate mugs and put them into the sink. He was about to return to his seat when he saw Trinity wildly swinging her arms in the air.

"What's the matter?" he asked her.

Trinity frowned, her eyes darting around the room. "There's some kind of flying bug here. I just noticed it, and it's been buzzing around me for a while. It's annoying me."

Terry shrugged. "Well, you're not doing it right then. Just swinging your arms randomly isn't going to get you anywhere. You have to wait for it to get close to you, then destroy it in one movement. Also, don't swing. Make a clapping motion to crush it."

Trinity frowned and focused again, trying to track her flying target. Now, Terry could see it too, but he would rather let Trinity try taking it out herself instead of doing it for her. As Trinity made clapping motions with her hands over and over again, the nimble insect avoided her each time. Annoyance began brimming in her expression.

Then, Trinity yelped and flinched as the insect collided with her eye. She clapped in front of her, but with only one eye providing clear vision her attack missed.

"You know, Trinity, maybe you should just leave it alone…" Terry offered.

Then his eyes widened as he saw the air between her hands begin to shimmer. Trinity's eyes were filled with frustration as they began sparking.

Terry foresaw what was about to happen. "Jerry! Olivia! Get farther away!"

His stunned friends did what he said as Terry leapt as far away as he could - just as Trinity yelled in frustration and materialized her scythe in her hands. With a total disregard for her current situation, she recklessly swung her weapon at the fly again and again - the energetic blade's slashes seeming to cut through the air itself.

For the next twenty seconds or so, Trinity became a whirlwind of flashing blades. When her outburst subsided, it was revealed that she had failed to actually cut the insect with her blade - but it had still been fried from the weapon's energy discharges.

Trinity panted and willed her scythe to vanish. "I...I got it."

Then she turned towards the others and gulped. Jerry and Olivia had backed themselves into the corners of the room, and Terry was glaring at her.

"Trinity…" Terry said darkly. "Do you have any idea of what you've just done?"

Suddenly, reality slapped Trinity in the face. She looked around, surprised to see that she somehow hadn't damaged any of Terry's furniture during her outburst. However, Trinity had realized the sheer danger of what she had done.

"I told you to be careful with that weapon of yours." Terry said slowly, articulating every word. "But you pulled it out for the sake of using it as a glorified flyswatter. In the process, you put Jerry and Olivia's lives on the line, and could have done some serious damage to my home. Trinity...what do have to say for yourself?"

Trinity was stunned. Then, her shock turned into overwhelming remorse.

"I...I…I'm so sorry!" she bawled, tackling Jerry and sobbing into his shirt. "I put you guys in so much danger...I was so stupid!"

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes." Olivia said, giving the crying child a reassuring hug. "It's okay. We forgive you."

"For sure." Jerry added. "Can you stop crying into my shirt, though?"

Hesitantly, Trinity did as she was told. Fortunately for Jerry, Trinity's tears shortly vanished into blue sparks, leaving Jerry's clothing as good as new.

"They're right, you know." Terry offered. "Everyone makes mistakes. So, just remember to never do that again, okay?"

Trinity rubbed her eyes. "Okay..."

"But, that doesn't change the fact that you did something _extremely_ dangerous. As your caretaker...I believe that a consequence is in order."

Trinity looked up at him quizzically.

 

_Several minutes later…_

Terry leaned on the couch, sighing. "God damn it. How does Jerry keep getting all of the good cards?"

Beside him, Jerry laughed. "Oh, yeah. Blame the cards."

Terry grit his teeth. "Hey, listen here…"

Olivia frowned. "Um...on an unrelated topic, I'm thinking about what you did to Trinity. Don't you think it's a tad...harsh?"

Terry frowned. "You think so?"

In the corner of the room, Trinity was hugging herself tightly, shivering uncontrollably. "Aaagh! Cold! Cold! This...this is way colder than outside!"

Turns out, Terry had no idea how to give Trinity a fitting punishment for her misbehavior. So, he had decided to try something more unorthodox. Instead of a more normal method of punishment, he had stuck Trinity's core crystal in the freezer. The cold, in turn, was translated directly to Trinity's body. While Trinity was by no means inexperienced with cold, Terry's freezer was colder than what she was used to - about -22 degrees Celsius. All of the frozen goods in contact with her core crystal didn't help, either.

As Trinity kept shivering and trying to warm herself up, Jerry shrugged. "It's an odd punishment, but I think it's fine. I'm assuming Terry wants to be a good caretaker towards Trinity, and sometimes you've got to be harsh about things."

"Hey, and Trinity accepted it herself, too." Terry added. "I'm not sure if it's good that she thinks she deserves it, but it's important for her to understand that actions have consequences."

"T-T-Terry?" Trinity stuttered through chattering teeth. "H-How much longer do I have to keep this up for?"

Terry checked his watch. "Um...it's been twelve minutes, so...eight more?"

Trinity grit her teeth and kept enduring the cold.

About five minutes later, Terry had just steamrollered Olivia in a fighting game when Trinity suddenly stiffened up. Her face turned even paler than usual.

"Aaah! There's something...there's something leaking onto my crystal! I can feel it! It's going all over me and it's slimy and disgusting and...help!"

Terry immediately put down his controller and went over to the freezer. Opening it, he saw that Trinity's core crystal was exactly where he had left it. However, one of the containers of raw meat he had stored there had opened a bit, and was indeed dripping fluid onto the crystal.

"T...Terry?" Trinity asked, fearfully. "What is it? What's leaking onto my crystal?"

Terry sighed and went for the blunt route. "Fluid from a leaking container of raw meat."

As Trinity paled and shrieked from fright, Terry shook his head and gingerly took the slimy crystal out of the freezer. Trinity's punishment time still hadn't ended yet, but he considered the circumstances and decided to just end it early. Even though he wanted to be a strict caretaker, even he had standards.

Trinity flinched at the sight of what had become of her core crystal, and Olivia pat her on the head out of pity. Terry just shook his head, filled a bowl with warm water, and dropped the crystal into it so the fluid coating it could wash off. In the meantime, he got a paper towel and started wiping up the mess in his freezer.

Trinity immediately deflated and let out a contented sigh. To her, the feeling of having her crystal dropped in warm water was the equivalent of sinking into a warm bath.

Terry finished cleaning up the freezer and took Trinity's crystal out of the water. As he started drying it with a dish towel, Trinity started to squirm. "H-Hey! That tickles!"

"God damn it, Trinity." Terry sighed, simply wrapping the crystal up in the towel and letting it soak up all of the moisture. "Is this better?"

Trinity let out a sigh of relaxation and closed her eyes. "Way better...this is actually really comfy. Like being swaddled in blankets..."

"Hey, don't enjoy it too much, or I'll reconsider ending your punishment early."

Trinity immediately snapped to attention again. "Um...yes sir!"

Terry smiled as he picked up a biscuit and ate it. "No need to be so formal, though."

Olivia laughed. "You're really getting into this whole parenting thing, Terry. That's so sweet."

Terry choked on his biscuit. "What? Uh…"

"She's right, you know." Jerry added. "Even though I've haven't observed you and Trinity for too long, that's honestly how I see your dynamic."

Terry frowned, a rare look of abashed denial on his face.

"Hey, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that." Jerry assured him. "In fact, it really speaks wonders about how mature you are for your age."

Trinity wasn't helping his case. "Yeah, Terry's a good caretaker!"

Terry still looked uncomfortable, but decided to let it slide. "Okay, if you say so..."

"Also, Trinity, can I ask you a random question?" Jerry asked. "Terry told me how you just...created your shoes out of nowhere. How did you do that?"

"Oh...I just imagined it! I don't know how it works, but that Vincent person apparently thinks that my clothes are just an extension of my body, just like that weapon I pulled out earlier." Trinity explained. "He said something about how everything that makes up who I am is just a form taken by that crystal's energy...something about it being made of matter and energy at the same time. I don't really know. But basically, he theorized that this lets me control that energy in whatever way I want...for example, creating more things for myself!"

Jerry nodded. "That's incredibly interesting! I can kind of understand why those people at Vivid Clarity want to research you so much."

As Trinity talked with the two friends, Terry let out another sigh. He knew that he _did_ actually behave like Trinity's parent at this point - and taking care of her did warm his heart a bit. But despite being willing to admit this to himself...he still wasn't quite willing to admit it to others.

_That's odd. Maybe I'll get used to it sometime._

 

_An hour later…_

"Okay, I'm going out to pick up the pizza." Terry said. "Have fun, guys. Don't destroy anything. That means you, Trinity."

"Ah, okay, goodbye...hey, wait a minute!" Trinity protested.

Terry closed the door before he could hear any of her complaints.

The three remaining youth sat there awkwardly. Then, Jerry broke the silence.

"Okay, we've played a lot already. I'm going to get a head start on this exam prep I brought."

Olivia practically exploded. "Are you insane? Why would you do that?"

Jerry sighed exasperatedly. "Olivia, unlike you, some of us actually have to work to get good results at school. And I know your standards are way lower than mine, but my standards are high for a reason."

"What do you mean you have no other choice?" Olivia yelled, a bit frustrated.

"Do you have any idea how pissed off my parents are going to get if I don't achieve what they think is exemplary?" Jerry practically shouted. "I can't afford to mess anything up - not even a single assignment. If I do, then…"

He trailed off, sighed, and got back to work.

Olivia looked like she was about to say something, but before she could do that, she clutched her stomach in pain. "Agh! Damn, my stomach hurts all of a sudden. I'm heading off to the bathroom..."

With that, she left the room, leaving Trinity alone with Jerry.

For a couple seconds, awkward silence permeated the room.

Then, Trinity spoke up. "Jerry? Is something bothering you?"

Jerry sighed again. "It's...nothing. No need to worry about me."

Trinity shook her head. She knew something was up, and now that they were alone, there wasn't any risk of embarrassing him in front of his friend. "Jerry...I know that's not true."

"...Just let me work." Jerry muttered defensively. "What do you know about me?"

"...Terry told me enough before you arrived."

Jerry looked at her in surprise.

Trinity stared at him imploringly. "Right before you guys got here, Terry told me a bit about his concerns. Terry mentioned how you always seemed so stressed. How you always looked like you were under so much pressure. He was worried about you, Jerry. Terry's a nice person like that. But he's not too good with expressing his concerns sometimes...and he was also worried about how you would feel if he started questioning you like that. So...I decided that maybe I should be the one to talk to you instead."

Jerry was momentarily shocked. Then, he gave a tired chuckle. "Terry...you really don't have to be so secretive about being a nice guy."

"So…" Trinity went on timidly. "I want you to tell me what's wrong...and I'll do whatever I can to make you feel better. That's what I want to do for you...since you're Terry's friend."

Jerry sighed. "Well...it's really nothing too special. But I...well, I wasn't really sure if this was an issue I could comfortably share. You...you won't judge me, will you?"

"N-No!" Trinity said, shaking her head.

"Well...again, it's nothing too special." Jerry began. "But it's just that the reason I always look so stressed is because _I am._ I'm from a family that has set extremely high standards for me, and I feel obligated to fulfil those expectations. And my parents...well, they're not the best. I don't think you've seen all of those jokes about overbearing, academic-obsessed parents...but mine are like those, except they aren't a joke. They're real. And they get _very_ upset if I don't meet their standards."

Trinity tilted her head in concern. She hadn't seen any of those jokes, but this all but confirmed what Terry had told her. "I'm...not sure what to say. I haven't been to school, I don't have parents…"

"Then...why are you here talking to me?"

"Because I still want to help." Trinity said, racking her brain for an appropriate response. "But why do you have to care? You're even older than Terry. You don't have to take all of this pressure into yourself."

"It's...harder than you think, kid." Jerry said. "My parents have basically controlled my life ever since...well, I don't remember. All of those decisions for my future weren't made by me. I rarely had a say in my life - it took longer than it should have to even convince them to let me have some free time nowadays. I'm too used to it. I can't just pull away now. I...I'm scared of letting them down."

Trinity lowered her head. "What do they want for your future?"

"The usual. They want me to go to a prestigious university and become a world-renowned doctor or something."

"And what do you want for your future?"

Jerry shook his head. "I...I don't know."

 _How...how can I help him?_ Trinity wondered. "I understand that it may be hard, but I think what you have to do is just stop caring so much. I'm sure your parents love you in their own way, but expectations are a double-edged sword. It's okay to have expectations to meet, but when they start making you upset is when you have a problem. Just...I think the best choice for you is to stop letting it get to you head so much."

Jerry gulped. "Just...stop caring? And what if they get mad, like they always do? I really don't like it when they lecture me, yell at me, or worse."

"If you have less pressure and still try as hard, then you'll probably do even better than you're doing now. Then they won't have a reason to be upset." Trinity said hesitantly. "It's not one or the other. You just need the courage to let go of the stress that's weighing you down. Then, if you do well, and are less stressed about everything...then everyone wins."

"...Can I really do that?" Jerry asked. "Like, I get what you're trying to say, but it sounds really hard."

Trinity nodded a bit. "I hope you can."

Jerry frowned. "I...I'm not sure if I can do this so quickly, Trinity."

Trinity was dismayed by the doubt in his voice. "This wasn't much of a help, wasn't it? Um...I'm sorry...I shouldn't have started this conversation when I know so little about this either. I just really wanted to try helping people with their problems…kind of like how Terry helps with mine."

"No, no." Jerry replied. "You did a good job. In fact, I'm thinking of what you just said, and I really don't know why I didn't think about it before. You know what? I...I think I might give it a try."

Trinity looked up. "I...I was helpful?"

Jerry nodded. "Not sure if I can do what you said right away, but your effort is what counts. Thank you."

Trinity tried for a smile. "I...I'm glad I was able to help a bit."

Jerry chuckled and went back to work. However, Trinity spoke up again. "Jerry?"

"Yeah?"

"Terry had also told me about a way I could try and help Olivia, and I want to try it. Can you...pretend not to be listening while I do it? To avoid embarrassing her?"

Jerry nodded and smiled. "You know what, Trinity? You really are a good kid."

Trinity looked bashful. "R-Really? Well...I had a good teacher, after all!"

Olivia took the moment to re-enter the room. "Okay, I'm done. What did I miss?"

Trinity looked up at her and cleared her throat.

 

"What? You think...that I can do better if I work harder?"

Trinity nodded. "Don't tell him I told you this...but Terry has always talked about how smart you are. But he's also told me about how he thinks you can do better if you just try a bit harder."

"Terry...said that about me?" Olivia asked. "That doesn't really sound like something he would say."

"He trusted me with his opinions." Trinity replied. "And since he hasn't bothered to share them, I decided to do it for him."

Olivia looked appreciative, but a bit unconvinced. "Well...I've had a lot of people tell me that. But I'm still not really convinced. There was a time when I worked way harder than I do now, but that didn't make a difference in my results at school. And even if it did, they were marginal at best. So...why shouldn't I just take it easier?"

"Well...do you feel any kind of motivation?"

Olivia shook her head. "Er...not really. My parents are the type to just kind of...leave me alone, not care, and let me do my own thing. And as for myself...well, I just explained my reasoning."

Trinity tilted her head. "But...what if that time in the past was just unlucky? What if you tried again today, and it worked?"

The older girl sighed. "Trinity, I'm not willing to believe in something so unfounded-"

She was cut off when Trinity slammed her hands onto the table, her eyes igniting with flickering light. Even Jerry, who was pretending not to hear anything, flinched.

"You can't lose hope this easily!" Trinity practically yelled. "Just because things didn't work in the past doesn't mean they won't today! When something doesn't work out for you, don't you want to keep trying until it works? Don't you want to see the fruits of your labors one day? What's the harm in giving your all?"

Trinity knew that if Terry were here, he would call her out for being naive. But she couldn't help it. She was basically grasping for straws to give Olivia advice - simply telling her what she felt, no more and no less.

Olivia was stunned by her sudden fervor. "I…"

Trinity seemed to realize what she was doing and calmed down. "Sorry for getting carried away, but...well, Terry's not one to tell lies, so I believe him when he says that you have more potential than you think. If you believe in what you're doing, there is no harm in giving your all for it. So, for your sake, my own sake, and the sake of everyone that believes you really can do better, I want you to shake off that pessimism of yours. And as you do...well, know that I'll be cheering you on."

Before Olivia could reply, Terry burst through the door, carrying their pizza. "Alright everyone, dinner time! What did I miss?"

All of them stared at him. Then, Jerry got up and walked to the bathroom to wash his hands. Olivia did the same, but as she passed Trinity she gave the smaller girl a peculiar look. Said look was all Trinity needed to understand her.

_Thank you._

Trinity smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

 _I don't know if they'll actually listen to my advice._ Trinity thought to herself, _But it's okay. Even if they don't listen to my advice...at least I tried to help._

 

_The next morning..._

Trinity slowly opened her eyes, squinting at the sunlight streaming through the window. _That dream…it wasn't as bad as the others, but it still sucked._

She had dreamed that she was trudging through a fierce snowstorm. Swirling jets of wind had battered her from all sides as the crystalline snow slashed at her skin. While she had shivered and tried to endure the storm, windy spirits howled around her - her worries and fears given physical form.

Trinity had silently endured it all, even as the bizarre spirits forcibly showed her unwelcome fragments of her past memories. But internally, she had still been begging the dream to end.

But at some point in the dream, she had felt a mysterious warmth. It had soothed her body and mind, driving off the spirits and banishing the snowstorm. Soon, she had overcome the storm and peacefully submerged into the pitch-black depths of her dreamless sleep again.

Looking to her right, Trinity could now see the reason for that warmth. Lying on the side table, her core crystal lay sandwiched between two hot packs. She was also tightly bundled in two layers of blankets, to the point where she looked like an oversized burrito.

Trinity sighed. _Terry...why are you so nice to me?_

At the dining table, Terry noticed Trinity's awakening and nodded. "Oh, you're awake. That was one hell of a nightmare you were having last night. You were shivering like crazy and crying in your sleep. You also kept mentioning that you were cold, so I did what I could to help out."

"S-Sorry for waking you up."

Terry smiled. "Hey, I woke up on my own this time. I know you had a rough night, but we've got a busy day ahead of us."

The spirit yawned, rubbing her eyes. "What is it?"

"Vincent just texted me, and he said that he wants us to meet him in person."

Trinity flinched. For some reason, she felt a sense of impending dread. After Simon's warning, and after connecting Vincent to that Pablo figure from her memories, she couldn't help but feel suspicious about Vivid Clarity. _Vincent seems to be awfully interested in me. Vivid Clarity in general seems to be as well, since they specifically chose me to make their spirit. But Vincent's father...he's the one who killed me, right? What does all of this mean?_

Outwardly, however, Trinity didn't show her concern. "Um...okay."

Terry nodded. "Good. We'll leave in about half an hour. In case you have any questions you want to ask him about your nature or powers, make sure to jot them down. I doubt that your memory will be enough."

Internally, Terry was perturbed. _Simon said they might be building weapons? I thought this place couldn't get any shadier, but it has. God, I'm worried. And I have so many questions. What will happen this time? What are they really up to? And what do they really want with Trinity?_

 _I have too many questions to count…_ Trinity thought. But she couldn't help but feel like something was about to happen. What were the chances that Vivid Clarity knew about her past? And what were the chances that Terry was about to find out what she had done to him while she was still alive? And then...

_...I don't want to die yet..._

Trinity shook her head to clear out her lingering fears. _Enough of that. Terry didn't teach me to be afraid of everything. If he finds out...I'll face my judgement._

And at that moment, both Trinity and Terry shared a single thought.

_...It's about time we get some answers._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing the part where Trinity helps Jerry/Olivia with their personal issues was by far the hardest for me. I had basically no experience with these kinds of things, so I just had to go with whatever my mind came up with. Which I supposes is kind of appropriate, considering that Trinity doesn't really know what to do either.
> 
> Actual action starts about next chapter, I'm very excited for it.


	6. Clarification

"Welcome back." Kevin said, giving his visitors a slight bow. "Vincent should be in a meeting room. Go down the hall, then take the second right. It should be there."

Terry nodded as Trinity did the same. They had arrived a bit earlier than the scheduled time, but neither of them had any idea if it was because of courtesy or nervousness.

Following Kevin's directions, the two of them made their way to the room where Vincent would be waiting for them. They didn't know what to expect, but both of them were on edge.

Taking a deep breath, Terry opened the door…

...and found Vincent playing a video game with a familiar boy.

Terry and Trinity stared dumbfoundedly at the bizarre scene as the first place sign appeared on Alberto's screen. Vincent sighed and shook his head, while Alberto pumped his fist enthusiastically.

Then, the two of them noticed the newcomers.

"Oh, hey." Vincent said offhandedly, putting down his controller and standing up. "You came early. I was in the middle of a racing game with my son here. More specifically, I was being beaten by him. He's really good."

"T-Terry!" Alberto stammered, getting to his feet. "What? Why are you here?"

"Oh, I forgot to tell Alberto about our appointment." Vincent admitted. "My apologies, everyone."

Alberto gulped and tried to process the situation. Terry just stared, and Trinity waved hesitantly.

"Er...father?" Alberto asked timidly. "Am I welcome here?"

"You can stay if you want to." Vincent replied. "You're old enough to start making these decisions for yourself. But I will warn you...what we're discussing here could get quite serious."

Alberto shook his head. "Well then...I think I'll pass."

As Alberto left the room, Vincent looked at Terry. "I just remembered. My son mentions you almost every day, and he speaks of you very highly. So, I feel that I must at least thank you for being such a good friend to him."

"Don't mention it." Terry said slowly, still on edge.

At that moment, Kevin entered the room, with Iris in tow. "Sir, is it okay if we sit in on this? We're kind of interested in the topic in question."

"Sure thing, guys." Vincent replied, turning off the television he was playing on. "You're trusted members of this organization, after all."

So, as the two employees closed the door and sat down in the back of the room, Terry and Trinity tensed even more. Vincent sat down at the desk at the room's front, laced his hands, and gave the two of them a welcoming smile.

"Take a seat, you two. Let's get straight to the point."

 

"Wait...so you want to _take Trinity as a test subject?"_

Terry was incredulous at what Vincent had just said, but he nodded. "Your reports have been invaluable to us, but we require more results concerning Trinity and her nature as a magic spirit. And to do those, we have to perform actual testing and analysis on her - tests that can only be done here, with our equipment."

Trinity shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Will it...be painful?"

Vincent made an "I don't know" gesture. "Hopefully not."

"I know you created her and all…" Terry said slowly, "But I'm going to have to say no to that."

Vincent frowned. "Hm? Why?"

"Trinity might be a magical spirit that you made, but she's still a person." Terry said firmly. "A person that has been under my guidance and care for the last month or so. And I cannot stand for turning a person in for scientific experimentation - especially a person that I have been teaching for a while now."

"I see your point, but I still must insist that we take her." Vincent replied, just as firm. "It's for the benefit of everyone involved, I promise."

"What benefit are you talking about?" Terry asked, a bit more irritated. "We don't even know what you need her for, or why you even created her. If there's a benefit to this, it hasn't been made clear to me yet!"

Vincent's expression hardened. "I cannot disclose the full details behind our reasoning yet. But as absurd as it sounds, I must ask that you trust us."

"Trust you?" Terry asked, raising his voice a bit more. "No offense, but I barely know you, much less the motives behind this entire ordeal. I'm not putting my trust into someone whose objective is still obscured from us. If you want my trust, then tell me the truth behind all of this!"

"The truth is not something that just anyone can handle! We've been obscuring it for a good reason!"

Terry stood up suddenly. "Stop acting so suspiciously and tell us! Even if I don't deserve to know... _she_ does! She's the one you're trying to take for your experiments!"

Trinity was a bit scared by the sudden tension, but nodded in agreement.

Vincent sighed, evidently collecting his thoughts. But in this moment of silence, Terry decided to ask another question.

"Vincent...you aren't planning on using her as a _weapon_ , are you?"

The man's expression didn't change, but Terry still detected a glint of fear in his eyes. "What gave you that idea?"

"Just a hunch." Terry said. "Now, are you going to tell us or not? If your answer is no, then I have half a mind to just walk out of here."

"Young man, consider what you're doing!" Vincent replied hotly. "We need to find out more about Trinity! It's for the greater good!"

"If it's for the greater good, then _tell me what that greater good is!"_ Terry yelled.

The tension in the room was almost like a physical pressure. Trinity was shaking in her chair. Kevin and Iris had their fists clenched. Vincent and Terry glared at each other.

Then, to Terry's surprise, Vincent relaxed and sat down. "Okay. I admit that I may have been more aggressive than I might have liked - because what we do here is incredibly important to me. But...I suppose that we're the reason you're both in this mess right now, so you deserve to know the truth. However, I cannot put enough emphasis on this - _what I'm about to say cannot leave this room."_

Terry sat down and nodded. However, the severity in Vincent's voice had shaken him a bit. What did he want to keep secret so badly?

"Um...okay." Trinity offered timidly. "So...you'll tell us?"

Vincent nodded. "You want a short version or a long one?"

"Short, please." Terry replied for Trinity.

"Okay. Essentially, we're secretly at war with an underground world of magic-wielding nutjobs, whose objective is the extinction of mankind. And Trinity is an essential part of both their plans and our own."

Trinity choked. "W-What?"

Terry went pale. "Uhh...maybe a long version would be better after all."

Vincent sighed and laced his hands. "I thought so."

So, as the two of them listened intently, Vincent began his explanation.

 

"First, you must understand the history of magic in our world." Vincent began. "There's a reason nobody knows about it, after all. From the evidence we've gotten concerning the subject, magic had once been prevalent in a time long forgotten - hence all of the myths it spawned. However, for some reason, it vanished off of the surface world a long time ago - banished exclusively to an underground realm that we were fortunate enough to uncover many years ago."

Terry was stunned. "What? So there's another world under us right now?"

Vincent nodded. "Call it coincidence, but the world of magic lies specifically under this city, in the form of a vast cave system. My father, despite being a pretty terrible person, was the first one to discover this world. From all of the scouting we've done, it's nothing like our own - the things down there are straight out of a fantasy story."

Terry nodded. "Um...okay. So, there's a magic world under ours. Now, can you explain the whole thing about magic-wielding nutjobs that want to end mankind?"

"In addition to the flora and fauna in this magical world, there are also people - ancient humans who wield the power of magic at will. We don't really know why they're here, but they've apparently been living and growing underground ever since those caves were sealed away. And among those underground dwellers, there is a particular group that call themselves the Cult of Archon."

Trinity gulped. "A...cult?"

Vincent nodded. "Yes. They are an organization of radicals who worship the eponymous deity Archon, who seems to be a really influential figure if our research on the dwellers is correct. And for some reason, their objective seems to be no less than the extinction of mankind. The border between our worlds seems to be sealed off with a barrier that only affects magical beings like themselves, but it's grown weak over the course of the countless ages it's been active. Because of this, cultists have actually been leaking into our world, and discreetly wreaking all kinds of havoc."

Terry grit his teeth. "What? Why do they want to kill everyone?"

Iris spoke up. "We don't know. However, judging from some of the rogues that we've captured and interrogated…"

Terry was incredulous. "Interrogated?"

Iris ignored his question "...we've determined that it has something to do with their god Archon. Whether it's an ancient grudge or something else is still unknown. But anyways, they've especially been drawn to Vivid Clarity. This might be simply because we're also probing into their world, but there's another reason for this."

"...And what is that?"

Vincent cleared his throat. "Ever since my father told me about the world of magic, I started doing extensive research into it. And once I discerned their objectives, I made it my objective to research this world as much as I could - in order to stop the Cult and their plans."

"Is that why you've been rumored to have been building weapons?" Terry asked.

William choked, but Vincent just nodded. "Indeed. The Cult of Archon has an army of magic wielders - and trust me when I say that magic is a terrifying force that could easily turn our world on its head if brought to the surface. So, I decided that we needed an army as well. Unbeknownst to the public, we've established a base on the border of the two worlds, where we construct armaments and train brave soldiers to take the fight to those madmen. Nobody's questioned us so far, which is honestly kind of sad considering the questionable measures we've had to go through to accomplish this. If you have the money, people will sell you things without even questioning what you're using it for. This is the darker side of business."

"Damn." Terry breathed. "So you've been secretly...waging war with an army of magic users? I'm not going to question how you actually accomplished this feat, but I still want to know: where does Trinity come into all of this?"

Kevin spoke up. "You see, from the information we've gleaned from captured cultists, there exists a particular prophecy in the underground. As of now, this Archon figure is supposedly slumbering deep underground - locked away by an unknown entity millennia ago. But apparently, before he was sealed away, he had left a message for the magic world. And that message was that if a sentient being of pure magic were to approach him of their own free will, he would be reawakened - and furthermore, he would let the being in question ask him a single request. However, a pure magic entity has never been heard of, even within the underground world - everything that lives there is only partly composed of magic. Even if there was magic to create something like that - namely a spirit, a deceased soul given a body of magic - it had apparently been lost to time even before Archon's sealing."

"Thus began a race." Vincent said. "A race to create the first entity of pure magic. The Cult and our organization have constantly been in an information battle with each other, trying to find out about the other's progress on the matter. If the Cult gets their hands on a purely magical entity, they will reawaken Archon - and use their request to unleash him upon the world. Judging from the ancient texts depicting the power of this god, if he were to be let loose on humanity, it'd be nothing short of a slaughter. However, if we get to that point first...we can be the ones to reawaken him. And with our request...we can ask him to erase magic from this planet and leave forever."

"Wait, what?" Terry asked. "Why?"

"To put it simply, I don't trust humanity with magic." Vincent said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "I've seen how terrifyingly powerful it is. But like all power, magic isn't inherently evil - it's merely a tool. However, humanity has a tendency to abuse power when it's given to them - and it's obvious that the number of people that could abuse this power is far too high. If the existence of magic became public, and these individuals got a hold of it...well, the world wouldn't know peace for a very long time. This is the same reason I've decided to keep this project a secret - if we asked for help, or told our government about it, they'd surely want to obtain this power for themselves. We cannot allow that - if that happens, even if the Cult doesn't destroy humanity, we very well may do it ourselves. Magic...is better off destroyed."

As Terry and Trinity tried to process all of this, Vincent went on. "So, we decided that we'd have to make a magic entity of our own first. And Trinity...you were the result of that - a lengthy project initiated for the sole purpose of creating a magical spirit."

"W-What?" Trinity asked incredulously. "But...why did you choose me?"

"Well…" Vincent said slowly, "You may be aware that my father was the ringleader of an underground mafia-like organization disguised as a manufacturing business. After years of discreetly performing countless illegal deeds, he was unceremoniously killed in a mysterious shootout. Once he died, I inherited all of his assets, revealed everything to the authorities, disbanded the organization, and made Vivid Clarity after getting the okay to keep all of his questionably-attained money. After my father's passing, I accepted any members of his crime group into the company as employees. And amongst them...there were two particular people who volunteered you for the test after you perished.

"Were they...my parents?" Trinity asked.

Vincent nodded.

Terry blanched. "Your parents worked for a _crime group?"_

Before Trinity could answer, Vincent continued. "When you died, you were found carrying a peculiar crystal - which we found was actually the brain crystal of a magical creature from the underground. In addition, Pablo was obsessed with neuroscience for some reason - he actually recorded your thought processes as you died. So, by combining science with magic, we managed to map the signal patterns in your brain to the crystal - which became your core crystal. Shortly after that, you manifested - a formless wisp of pure magic."

Trinity was stunned. "Wait...but why didn't you keep me?"

Vincent frowned. "Before we could do much else, the lab we were using came under attack by cultists. We absolutely could not allow that, so we tried to get the crystal to safety - alas, they intercepted the escape attempt. However, they didn't manage to get it - instead, it was lost to both of us, and Trinity apparently went into a form of hibernation. And then, after years with no clues to where it was...Terry found it.

Terry and Trinity were silent as Vincent went on. "That was new for us. Through Terry's notes, we continued our research into your nature - learning how spirits worked, and what they were capable of. And although it wasn't supposed to be scientifically possible...I suppose that your memories gradually returned after these months of living."

"Wait, hold on just one moment." Terry asked. "When I first found Trinity's crystal, it was almost like the thing was calling out to me. Why did it do that to me and...well, anyone else, like you or the cultists?"

"Well, there's a curious fellow here named William. He's our top magical researcher, and is currently stationed in one of our underground bases." Vincent explained. "He had a hypothesis that the spirit slumbering within the core crystal could potentially reach out to people in its thoughts. Trinity didn't have a lot of thoughts, as her spirit had just been created, but it seemed that you were an important figure in her memory. After looking into some past records of my father's actions, I understand why. So, she subconsciously called out to you - and that gave her enough of a attachment to the world to manifest once again, and this time with an actual form."

"Say _what?"_ Terry practically shouted. "How could I be an important figure in Trinity's memory? I never knew anyone like her...hell, I don't even know what her past was like! What role did I play in all of this?"

Vincent opened his mouth, but was cut off by a whimpering sob. Surprised, he turned to the source of the noise, only to see Trinity hunched over in her chair. Her expression was hollow, and tears were falling from her eyes.

"Trinity...what's wrong?" Terry asked urgently. "Are you okay?"

"No...I'm not okay!" Trinity practically screamed. "It's time...time that you learned the truth about me."

Vincent looked a bit shaken. "Trinity...can I tell him?"

Trinity nodded and closed her eyes tightly.

With that, Vincent explained everything. He explained Trinity's tumultuous past, and how her desperate parents had signed up for Pablo's crime syndicate in order to make a living - only to find themselves unable to leave thanks to the man's influence and threats. He explained how she had befriended Terry's parents, only to accidentally expose them, allowing them to be kidnapped killed by the criminals. And he explained Trinity's attempt to bring them to justice, and her final fate.

All was silent in the room.

Terry's fists were clenched so hard that his fingernails were digging into his palms. His eyes seemed to spark as his mind processed everything that he had been told.

Then, he looked at Trinity, who flinched.

_I can accept my judgement...I'm strong...I can do this…_

But she evidently wasn't strong enough. Within the span of five seconds, Trinity burst into hysterical sobbing. She couldn't even bring herself to apologize or say anything, merely curling up into a ball and bawling as she awaited her sentence.

However, what she felt wasn't the feeling of her body shattering into a million pieces, or the feeling of fading into oblivion.

What she felt was a hand resting comfortingly on her head.

"Trinity." a voice said. "Look at me."

With teary eyes, Trinity looked up. Terry stared back at her, his eyes filled with pity.

"Did you really think I could blame you for that?" Terry asked. "Do you think anyone could? Hell, do you even think you can blame _yourself_ for that? What...what kind of a person did you mistake me for?"

"B-But…" Trinity stammered. "I'm the reason you've been alone all this time...the reason you didn't have any parents to grow up with. And after you taught me...raised me…cared for me..."

To this, Terry just shook his head. "Do you think I expected you to know that those people were after my parents? You didn't know better. This is in no way your fault, kid! If anything, I should be pitying you...your childhood sounded terrible."

"...You're forgiving me?" Trinity asked tearfully. "You won't destroy me?"

"Destroy...you?" Terry asked incredulously. "Are you stupid? Of course I won't! You've done absolutely nothing wrong! The only people that are actually responsible for my parents' death are Pablo and the Cult...and Pablo has long since gotten what he deserved. If I ever get a chance to...that Cult has hell to pay. But you...you were just an innocent person caught in the crossfire of two terrible organizations. Let's just forget about it, okay?"

Trinity couldn't help it. She jumped at Terry and wrapped him in a tight hug. "Thank you...thank you so much!"

Terry's expression didn't change, but he returned the gesture. "It's okay. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is fine now."

The three Vivid Clarity members looked on, their expressions filled with a mixture of pity, relief, and content.

While Trinity sobbed into his hoodie, Terry gave Vincent another look. "Wait, you haven't explained why my parents were even targeted by your father or the Cult."

"Well, your parents were secretly supernatural researchers like us." Vincent said offhandedly, which caused Terry's eyes to widen in surprise. "The cult hoped to either capture or kill them, so that they could both obtain their knowledge or stop humanity from getting it. As for Pablo...your parents were constantly trying to catch him in the act, so that the authorities could shut down his organization. But not only was Pablo really damn good at covering his tracks, he also didn't take kindly to their attempts. They were constantly on the run - always switching living locations, never telling anyone anything about their future whereabouts. But they ended up developing a soft spot for the lonely child who lived next door...and, unfortunately, the rest is history."

Terry was silent. _So that's why...that's why they were always away. They were constantly on the run from the cult and Pablo's criminals. That's why...they were never here for me._

He clenched his fists again. _Damn cultists...I won't forgive them. If I ever get the chance to fight them, like Vivid Clarity has been doing...I'll destroy them all._

Trinity calmed down enough to stand up again. Then, much to everyone's surprise, Trinity looked at Vincent and answered the question that had been lingering in the air for some time.

"Okay, I'll help you with your experiments."

Kevin and Iris backed up in shock as Vincent's eyes widened. "You mean it?"

Trinity nodded. "After hearing about all of this, I...I want to help you defeat that horrible cult!"

Then she looked at Terry. "Uh...that's okay, right?"

Terry shrugged. "Well...if you said you want to, there's not much I can do about it, right? This is a decision you can make for yourself."

Vincent nodded. "That's excellent news. Now, follow me. Since we've told you everything about our true nature, I suppose we owe you a visit to our underground base."

 

_A few minutes later…_

"What?" Terry breathed, dumbfounded. "How did you get all of this stuff? And how the hell did you keep this a secret?"

Vincent laughed. "I'm honestly surprised how well we managed to conceal our operations. I think it has something to do with the fact that if someone told the authorities about what we were doing, they probably wouldn't believe us.

Trinity gawked as she pressed her face to the window. They were in a room deep underground, overlooking the entrance to a vast cave system. The place was several times larger than an aircraft hangar, and dimly lit by numerous glowing crystals that lined the walls. Within the space, countless armed soldiers, mechanical weapon systems, and armored vehicles stood on standby - enough to fight an entire military.

"You...prepared all of this?" Trinity asked.

Vincent nodded. "Yes. Like I said, you need an army to fight an army - and when your enemy has science-buggering magical powers, you need an extra powerful army. Our research has allowed us to design countless cutting-edge weapons for our cause, and despite my father's immoral methods, his inheritance, combined with our scavenging for natural resources and economic success as a company, has allowed us to fund all of this. Research into the nature of magic has even allowed us to start thinking about wielding the enemy's power against them. And all of this...has been envisioned and put together for one purpose - eradication of the Cult. We're biding our time, fending off their occasional attacks and rounding up any cultists that try to break into the surface world in the meantime. Then, when the time is ripe...we'll unleash all of this at once, and wipe those madmen from the face of this planet."

Trinity frowned. "Eradicate them? Surely, there's a...less violent solution, right?"

Vincent shook his head. "As much as I despise my father for his actions, he drilled this concept into my mind as a boy - even if there is a better way, nothing gets rid of something quite like destroying it. And we can't afford to take risks with something this dangerous. I'm determined to wipe them out - all of them. If I must, I am willing to face justice later, once the world is safe from this threat."

The room fell silent for a bit. Then, Trinity asked another question.

"Also, I'm curious...what ended up happening to my parents?"

Trinity's heart sank when she saw Vincent's expression harden.

"Trinity...Vincent offered your parents a place in his new organization after he disbanded his father's." Iris told her. "They accepted the request, after seeing how different his ideals were from his father. But they could barely live with the memory of seeing their daughter killed before their eyes, especially since they felt like they had become so distant from you during the last years of your life. So, they begged Vincent to use you for his spirit creation project - in the hopes that they could reunite with you and apologize for what they did."

Kevin continued somberly. "But the project went extremely slowly - and, alas, they never got a chance to witness the fruits of their request. One day, when on a research expedition, those two vanished and never returned. While we still don't know their fate...well, we assumed the worst. I'm sorry, Trinity."

Trinity hung her head sadly, and Terry put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"Your parents thought that you would believe they didn't love you." Vincent said slowly. "They wanted to tell you that they cared about you and missed you dearly, even though they couldn't be with you due to their circumstances. But they vanished before they could tell you. Since you're here now...I'm here to deliver this message on their behalf. Please don't hate them, Trinity."

"I...I never hated them." Trinity whispered. "I just...wished they were here more often…I really could have used their help...with everything...that happened to me..."

The room fell silent again.

"So…" Terry began slowly, "What do we do now?"

Vincent stroked his chin. "Now? Now, I suppose we can begin with some preliminary testing. Like, just asking you questions and getting you to demonstrate things. Are you okay with that?"

Trinity nodded. "I'll do it."

However, before anyone could move, a loud crashing noise was heard. Muffled yells could be heard from the doorway, and the building seemed to shake."

Terry gulped. "What...was that?"

William turned pale as he viewed something on his phone. "Uh, Vincent? We've got a bit of a situation."

"What is it this time?"

William replied in a shaky voice. "We've got cultists. They apparently breached a less monitored part of our nearby defenses and are moving through the base. They took our guards by surprise, and we'll need some time to fully prepare our defenses."

"Damn it!" Vincent practically snarled. "This is a bad spot. If they get over here and see Trinity, then-"

He was unceremoniously cut off when a large explosion was heard from the hallway, the fire from the blast licking under the doors.

In a lightning-quick motion, Vincent dashed to the other side of the room and opened a cabinet, revealing several firearms concealed within. "Terry, do you know how to fire any of these?"

"Uh...kind of?"

"Well, let's hope you do, because as of now we are in an emergency situation!" Vincent yelled, grabbing a rifle and priming it. "If we don't want to get stuck here and slaughtered, then we're going to have to beat our way out of here! Our enemies are on the other side of that door...show them no mercy!"

Kevin and Iris grabbed weapons and saluted. "Yes, sir!"

Terry hesitantly picked up a rifle, while Trinity readied her scythe.

 

Treading lightly, Vincent slid open the door and peeked around the corner. "It looks like our men have driven them out of the immediate area. We can make a break for it."

Trinity nodded, and was about to start running when Terry gave her a look. "Trinity, I want you to go invisible. We can't let them know you exist."

However, Vincent shook his head. "I highly doubt that they can't see magic. Invisibility will likely do you no good. Just try to stay low-profile."

As Trinity just nodded again, the five of them stepped out into the hallway and made a break for the nearest exit. The stairs were clogged with armed men making their way to the breach, so the group decided to take the strangely-vacant elevator. However, they had barely made it up a floor when the elevator jerked violently before falling straight down.

Trinity shrieked in alarm while Terry grabbed onto a nearby railing for support. Vincent leaned against the wall of the elevator to stop himself from falling over, while Kevin and Iris did the same.

With a crash, the elevator landed on the bottom floor.

"...So much for that idea, huh?" Terry asked.

Vincent grit his teeth. "This elevator has a fail-safe in case of sudden power failure, so the cable's probably cut somehow. Either the cultists did it on purpose, or it was broken in the collateral damage. Come on, let's get out of here and figure out a way to get up there again."

So, without further ado, Vincent pried open the elevator doors, and the group quickly leapt outside and ducked behind a large rock. They were now in a different entrance to the cave system, which was significantly smaller than the one they had last seen. After all, it would be of the cultists' best interests not to attack their most fortified sector head-on.

On their side of the cave, numerous armed soldiers brandished their weapons at the ready, a number of them already firing at their foes. And on the other side...

 _So…_ Terry mused silently, _Those are the cultists?_

Amidst piles of smoldering rubble and ruined equipment, a group of dark-hooded people sifted through the wreckage, orbs of energetic fury clasped in their hands. They looked human enough...but Terry could feel a kind of dread surrounding them. They radiated power and danger, to the point where it almost seemed like a visible pressure.

Standing in the center of the group of cultists, a peculiar figure stood out among rest. They wore a full-body indigo robe similar to the others - but what was odd about them was that no part of their body was exposed. They wore metal gauntlets on their hands, and had a peculiar mask that covered their entire face. The metallic visage resembled a hazmat mask of sorts, except for the fact that the eye-holes glowered with a wicked green light. A hissing noise was audible from the mask as the mysterious entity breathed, their fiery eyes surveying the area.

"Is that...their leader?" Terry asked.

Vincent grit his teeth. "Nope. They just seem to be a high-ranking commander of sorts. For all I know, they might not even _have_ a leader. But what we've gotten out of captured so far is that this friendly-looking fellow is named Ellis. Other than that, we don't know a lot about them - no background, no motives, hell, not even their _gender._ They never speak, and all of their subordinates speak about them with confusion at best and terror at worst. All that we do know is that they're a scarily competent fighter, and that they have a sadistic streak a mile long."

Just as Terry was about to point his rifle at their foes, Vincent made a "stop" motion with his hand. "Do not engage them. I'm sure you've realized this already, but they're incredibly dangerous. It would basically be suicide for an untrained youth to start a fight with them. Hell, I'm not even sure if Trinity could deal with them."

Terry was a bit concerned. "I'll keep that in mind, but do they have any weaknesses that we can exploit? I'm assuming that their biology is different from ours, since you said that they've been living in what amounts to a different world."

"Straight to the point, huh?" Vincent asked. "Well, that is true. And I _can_ say that their adaptations are different than our own. Since they rely on magic for pretty much everything in their lives, their bodies are quite frail compared to our own. However, like Trinity, they _can_ apparently use magic to temporarily strengthen themselves."

Terry pondered this. "That's good to know."

Trinity frowned. "Terry, please don't try to fight them. Vincent said that they were dangerous!"

Terry nodded, but Trinity could see wrathful desire in his eyes. "Trinity, we might have to fight them anyways. I'm just being sure."

The masked figure raised a hand, and their battalion of mages simultaneously opened fire, letting loose with countless blasts of searing fire. The blasts struck indiscriminately, blasting apart war machines and scorching the rocky ground. As several soldiers leapt behind cover, their metallic armor sizzling, many others returned fire. In response, the mages raised their hands and deployed a number of glowing barriers that blocked the shots - although a number of them couldn't protect themselves fast enough and were forced to back off after the bullets nearly punched holes in the armor under their robes.

As the firefight continued, Ellis didn't even move. Steam hissed out of their mask as they breathed calmly, like this fight was just a normal occurrence.

"They're just...standing there." Trinity whispered. "What's with them?"

Iris grit her teeth, readying her handgun. "They're usually like this. But something seems fishy here…"

In a lightning-quick motion, Ellis turned towards the group. Raising a hand, the mage unleashed several beams of sickly-green light towards them. The beams struck the rock and instantly melted it into a pile of sizzling slag, as if it had just been doused in acid.

The five of them immediately jumped to their feet and tensed as Ellis slowly turned towards them, their body slightly hunched over. Then, in a sudden motion, they snapped to an upright stance. More wisps hissed from their mask as the lights of their eyes narrowed.

Several mages ran up to Ellis, seemingly to assist their commander, but the masked mage made a flicking motion to dismiss them. As the lights of their eyes glowed even brighter in anticipation, the menacing entity spread their hands, their metal-gloved hands glowing with a sickly green light.

"They want to...fight us for some reason." Kevin growled.

Terry, however, wasn't one to waste time. Noticing a ruined buggy lying next to his enemy, he pointed his rifle at it and shot at its exposed fuel tank before covering his ears. Sure enough, the wreckage exploded violently, causing Ellis to cock their head in the direction of the blast and raise a circular barrier to block the explosion.

However, while they were doing this, Terry took the opportunity to lunge. Ellis noticed this and unleashed a fan of searing green rays at the incoming teen. Ducking under the first wave of lasers, Terry opened fire - only to predictably miss all of his shots. _Damn. I suppose it's true that I don't have any practice with firearms…_

Just as Ellis raised their hands to unleash another wave of lasers, Terry hurled his rifle at them, forcing the mage to bat the flying weapon aside. During those precious seconds when Ellis was occupied, Terry grabbed a metal beam from a nearby wreck and brandished it like a baseball bat. With fury in his eyes, Terry bore down on the mage, hauled back, and swung.

To his surprise, there was no magical deflector shield that suddenly appeared to protect Ellis, or anything of the like. The beam struck them squarely in the mask and sent them reeling. Terry then followed up with a series of wild swings that knocked the mage around like a rag doll, the teen not giving his opponent enough time to recover their composure and fire more beams. Ellis wore metal armor underneath their robes, but the strikes still sounded like they were causing some major damage. Even when they tried to use their arms to block the strikes, they didn't have enough strength to fully fend them off.

 _Wow…_ Terry thought, _Vincent really meant it when he said that their bodies are physically weaker, huh?_

As Kevin and Iris ducked behind cover and took potshots at the other mages, Vincent gave Terry a thumbs-up. "You're doing great, but be careful! Ellis probably has more tricks up their sleeve."

"You're doing great, Terry!" Trinity called. "Keep it up!"

Terry yelled angrily as he struck Ellis in the head again, causing their eye lights to flicker a bit. Before Ellis could retaliate, Terry body-checked them into a nearby boulder and proceeded to mercilessly hammer away at their mask. Although Ellis' armor wasn't visibly denting, they still shuddered from the impacts as their eyes flickered with unstable light. Terry could only hope that whatever was underneath that armor was sustaining damage.

However, as Terry swung the beam again, Ellis managed to touch it with their hand. There was a flash of green, and their fingers melted through the beam like it was made of butter. Terry stepped back in alarm, hastily dropping his liquefied weapon - allowing Ellis to raise another hand and repel him with a burst of force. Terry skidded along the earthen floor, quickly stumbling to his feet and searching for another weapon as his opponent got up, their body making unnerving twitching motions as it straightened itself out.

 _Damn..._ Terry thought as he grit his teeth. _This guy doesn't seem any worse off than they were before. That armor must be pretty strong...but didn't they feel the pain from those attacks? Is this...the power of a magic human? What is this guy?_

Ellis' eyes blazed with fiery light as they reached to their belt and pulled out a peculiar metal object - one that looked like a fancy, lopsided sword hilt. Terry flinched in shock as the device sparked to life, revealing it to be exactly what it looked like. Their heavy metallic breathing hissing through the air, Ellis grasped the device's handle - a crackling, single-edged blade of pure green energy extending from the top.

"What the hell?" Terry yelled. "Since when did they have laser swords?"

Vincent's eyes widened. "Not all of them do! That's a magical weapon like Trinity's. Terry, get the hell out of there!"

Before Terry could do anything, Ellis slowly walked towards Terry, before letting out a muffled growl as they suddenly lunged. Terry gasped and dodged to the side as Ellis' blade seared through the space that he was just standing in. As Ellis twisted his body to face him, Terry scrambled to his feet and backed off again as the mage lunged time and time again, slashing wildly.

Terry backed off and picked up a nearby gun, firing several rounds at his foe. However, Ellis simply blocked them with a shield of sorts, before raising their sword and firing off a crescent-shaped beam. Terry managed to duck before the beam decapitated him, the blast flying over his head and slicing through a drone flying overhead. Terry managed to get back onto his feet quickly, coughing as the acrid scent left over from the attack burned his nostrils.

"Kid!" Vincent yelled, brandishing his rifle and running in his direction. "Hold on, I'm coming!"

Shuddering violently, Ellis raised their hands. A ring of green light formed around Terry, which promptly began hissing out acrid green vapor. Vincent stopped himself before he ran into the cloud, coughing and gagging as it burned at his face. "Damn it…"

Terry's blood ran cold. He was trapped. Getting through that gas cloud was going to be no easy feat. Trying to look through the cloud, his eyes widened as he saw Ellis march straight through the cloud, eyes burning with feral animosity. Even as Terry fired several more shots at them, Ellis simply deflected them as they continued their monotonous, menacing march towards him.

As the malevolent masked figure broke into a sprint, hauled back, and swung, Terry grunted as he dodged the strike. Ellis followed up with a horizontal slash, but Terry ducked under the strike, struck them with the stock of his rifle as a distraction, then dropped it and grabbed them by the arms before kicking out and bowling them over. Ellis' sword clattered to the ground, humming dangerously.

Ellis stared into his soul unflinchingly as Terry grabbed their mask and started trying to pry it off. When that didn't work, he grabbed a nearby rock and started repeatedly bashing at his enemy's metal visage, denting it. However, Ellis quickly recovered and roughly grabbed Terry, their metal claws digging into his arm. As Terry flinched in alarm, Ellis' hands glowed - and Terry suddenly screamed as he felt overwhelming pain shoot through his body. He had no idea what Ellis had just done to him, but he felt like he was getting boiling sulphuric acid pumped into his bloodstream.

Terry yelled and squirmed as Ellis slowly got up. In a sudden motion, they exerted an invisible force that tossed Terry into the air, only to pin him to the ground by his neck when he fell. Terry choked and retched as the burning pain spread to his neck, making him feel like he was gargling battery acid. He wasn't sure if it was just a pain-induced vision, but Terry saw Ellis' eyes burn with sadistic pleasure as they reached out with their other hand, their sword flying back to the grasp.

However, through the burning haze, Terry saw a familiar shape moving into position behind them.

_Trinity._

Just as Ellis prepared to horizontally bisect Terry, Trinity leapt from behind them and struck, her scythe digging deep into Ellis' plated armor. The masked menace's eyes widened in shock as Trinity twisted her scythe and hurled Ellis, yanking them away from Terry. As Terry tumbled to the floor, Trinity's eyes flared with anger. "Don't you dare!"

Ellis slowly got to their feet, a repeated percussive sound coming out of their mask as they raised their sword in anticipation. In response, Trinity twirled her scythe and held it at the ready, its lethal edge humming dangerously.

"How'd you...get through that cloud…" Terry coughed, still clutching his neck.

"It's a bit easier when you don't have to worry about being poisoned to death." Trinity replied. "All it did was hurt a lot. No problem."

Terry was about to explain how much of a problem that was when Trinity turned back towards Ellis, who hunched over and tilted their head. "Don't worry, Terry. Recover. I'll protect you, I promise!"

Even in such a dire situation, Terry couldn't help but chuckle. _Heh...she's grown up so much…_

Trinity stared down her foe. _This person threatened Terry...so I have to fight. If I defeat them...if I destroy them...surely Terry will be happy, like last time!_

With a defiant yell, Trinity leapt at Ellis, her scythe crackling. In response, Ellis raised their sword to meet her strike, the two magical weapons causing an eruption of colorful sparks as they clashed. Trinity pulled out of the blade lock and swung wildly, forcing Ellis to go on the defensive. The masked mage blocked every strike, but was being forced backwards from the ferocity of Trinity's assault.

As the two of them clashed over and over again, Terry managed to sweep away some of the acrid vapor surrounding him and escape. Vincent and the others ran up to him. "You okay?"

"Kind of." Terry groaned. "That guy's strong."

Iris nodded. "But it looks like Trinity's handling them pretty well!"

Kevin squinted at the battle. "Uh...I'm not sure about that…"

Iris was confused. "What? Why?"

"Look." Kevin said, frowning as he pointed to the battle. "Ellis has this weird way of fighting where they use sudden, jerky movements - but it's still evident that they have some form of finesse. Trinity, on the other hand…"

Terry's blood ran cold as he realized that Kevin had a point. Trinity had gotten an early advantage, and had the benefit of using a weapon with longer reach, but she was fighting wildly and recklessly, with no technique or form behind her attacks. Against a normal foe, like the gang that she had dispatched earlier, this may have worked, but Ellis was evidently a professional fighter.

Vincent grit his teeth. "You're right. It's only a matter of time before Ellis outmaneuvers or overpowers her somehow. Our reinforcements are swarming the area and flushing out the invaders - which means that we might have to occupy our time with more pressing matters like helping her. But Terry, I want you to stay back. If they get that crystal, it's over."

Terry nodded reluctantly.

Meanwhile, Trinity's eyes widened as Ellis faked her out and struck her with a fist to the head, sending her reeling. As she tried to swing her scythe again, Ellis blocked the strike and used the downtime from the missed strike to lunge, their blade slashing into Trinity's arm. The girl's eyes widened in pain as she backed off a bit, blue sparks spewing from the deep gash in her arm in place of blood.

Ellis lunged again, and Trinity hastily raised her scythe. Feinting to the left, she dodged to the right and swung her scythe - catching Ellis squarely in the face and sending them flying. The strike had cut a large gash into Ellis' mask - when they realized this, the mage's eyes suddenly flared up with fury.

Raising their hand, Ellis unleashed waves of green blasts which struck indiscriminately in front of them, melting everything they touched. Trinity grit her teeth as several struck her scythe and broke it down, forcing her to dissolve it and make another one. However, Ellis took the opportunity to lunge at her, blade at the ready. Trinity responded with a series of wild slashes, but Ellis had apparently figured out how to read her movements. The masked mage blocked all of the incoming slashes flawlessly, before sweeping their leg to knock Trinity over.

As Trinity fell sprawled onto their back, she emitted a muffled scream as Ellis jammed their sword into her injured arm. Glaring down at her, Ellis' head shuddered as they yanked out their sword, and the mage's hands began glowing green again as sickly-green flames formed around Trinity, slowly creeping their way along her body.

The moment the flames touched her, Trinity shrieked in agony. Admittedly, she might not have had as many painful experiences as someone like Terry, but the pain she felt at that moment was more severe than anything she had ever encountered. It was like every nerve in her body was simultaneously being sliced lengthwise with a rusty scalpel.

Terry glared at Ellis furiously. That...monster's eyes were definitely glowing with sadistic pleasure this time. It was like Trinity's pained screams brought him great joy.

He couldn't stand it. He grabbed another piece of wreckage and ran up to Ellis. "Oh, you've already earned one hell of a beating! C'mere!"

"Terry, stay back!" Vincent warned.

Ellis turned towards Terry. Their eyes narrowed as they seemed to register his unbridled wrath. Then, they turned back towards Trinity, and their eyes flickered as if acknowledging a connection between his two enemies. Ellis tilted their head, then clenched their fist, causing the green flames consuming Trinity's form to dissipate.

Before Terry could run up to her, Ellis snapped their fingers, and Trinity then became enveloped in a blackish-green miasma. The toxic-looking cloud seemed to soak into Trinity's body, causing her to curl up and shudder.

As Ellis stared dispassionately, Terry ran up to Trinity. "What the hell was that?"

Trinity looked scared. "I...I don't know."

Her expression only got more concerned when Terry clenched his fists so tightly that she was worried that his nails would draw blood. Slowly standing up, he suddenly turned around and lunged at Ellis.

"What did you do to her? _TELL ME!"_

The mage nimbly avoided his reckless strike. Staring the two of them down, Ellis let out what sounded like a muffled laugh before surrounding themselves with green light.

Terry dashed at him. "Get over here! What the hell did you do?!"

But in a flash, Ellis was gone.

As Terry stared at the place where his enemy had just been standing, Vincent ran up to them. "Ellis just left? Well, our reinforcements have just cleared out most of the cultists. I think we're safe...for now…"

"Yeah, except that... _fiend_ did something to Trinity."

Vincent blanched. "What?"

Before any of them could elaborate, Trinity coughed. "Er…"

Terry turned towards her. "Is something wrong?"

Trinity frowned. Her wounds had already regenerated, but she looked... _off_ , somehow. "I...uh...I don't feel so good. C-Can I get some fresh air?"

"Sure thing." Kevin said urgently as they took off for the stairs.

 

The group rushed Trinity outside, where the sun was shining down from a cloudless sky. Trinity took a shuddering breath of the cold air and exhaled loudly. "That...that's better. Thank you…"

"That's not a good sign, though." Terry said. "What did Ellis do to her?"

Kevin frowned. "I don't know. Ellis didn't attack her crystal, right? They directly attacked her body...but it still seems like whatever they did still affected her. I do have on idea...but it's not a pretty one."

Iris looked like she was about to reply, but a sudden voice cut her off. "Terry?"

Terry turned towards the voice in surprise. Standing before him were none other Jerry, Olivia, and Alberto. And standing behind them was Simon - the cop that they had met the other day.

"What?" Terry asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"

"Alberto said you were having a meeting here, and we were in the area. So, we decided to stick around and try to get you and Trinity for lunch." Jerry said. "Who are all of these people? And why does Trinity look so uncomfortable?"

"Also, this Simon guy was loitering around here, and he randomly started questioning us." Alberto added. "Do you know him?"

Simon waved. "Alright, what's going on here? Why are all of you covered in burns and bruises?"

Vincent looked around and sighed. "Terry, these are your friends, right?"

Terry nodded.

"Are they trustworthy?"

Terry nodded again.

As Kevin and Iris looked at each other in alarm, Vincent seemed to make a decision. "Well…no point in trying to make something up. All of you, come inside - and prepare to listen. This...might take a while."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, it's going to be annoying to constantly remember to use gender-neutral pronouns for Ellis.


	7. Preparation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A smaller chapter this time around. Mostly just to set up some stuff for the beginning of the actual adventure arc - hence the chapter title.

_Many minutes of explaining later…_

Olivia slammed her hands on the table. "What? So you're saying...that there's a world of magic under us now? That there's a cult trying to exterminate humanity? That you've been waging a secret war for years?"

Jerry put his hands to his temples. "This...is a lot to take in."

Vincent nodded. "I understand. And it's your choice whether to believe me or not. If you don't believe me, then walk out of this room and pretend this never happened."

Jerry looked at Terry. "Terry...is all of this true?"

Terry nodded.

"Well, if Terry says it's true, then I guess I'll buy it." Jerry said. "He's never lied to us before, and I have faith that he won't any time soon."

"Wait…" Olivia said, pointing at Alberto. "Vincent's your father, right? Did you know about this stuff?"

"Uh...yeah." Alberto said guiltily. "I was kind of told to keep this secret though, so I couldn't tell anyone…"

"No, that's fine!" Olivia assured him. "It's just that I'm surprised that you knew about such incredible things!"

Simon clasped his hands together, his eyes practically shimmering with excitement. "This is even better than I thought! The existence of an underground world of magic...that's incredible! This company has had more secrets than I could have ever imagined!"

"Sir, we must ask that you do not tell this to anyone." Vincent said calmly. "We entrusted you with the truth for a reason."

Simon shrugged. "Don't worry, I won't. You raised a pretty good point when you explained why you had kept this a secret. If word of this magic world got out to the public...oh boy."

Jerry stretched out and relaxed. "That's good and all, but we have an immediate problem. Any idea on what's hit Trinity?"

Terry shook his head, feeling Trinity's forehead. The spirit didn't look injured, but she looked a little more sickly than usual.

However, Kevin spotted something. "Hey...what's that on her crystal?"

Terry took the crystal off his wristband...and almost dropped it in surprise.

A single black streak had appeared on its surface.

Upon seeing this, Trinity went pale. "What...is that?"

Kevin grit his teeth. "Oh, god. This all but confirms my suspicions."

"What is it?" Terry asked urgently.

Kevin seemed to gather his thoughts for a bit. "From the information we've gleaned on Ellis, they seem to be a specialist in curses. If our sources are correct, these black streaks match the ones that appear in creatures that Ellis has struck with their signature death curse. It's a nefarious affliction that saps the vitality of creatures over time - it even saps magic from magical entities, so Trinity is likely still vulnerable to it. And when that time is up, well…"

Terry's eyes widened at his news. "What? Is there any way to cure this?"

Kevin just shrugged. "Not that we know of."

Trinity seemed to be on the verge of hyperventilation. "That's...scary, to say the least. But that Ellis had me on the ropes down there...why didn't they just kill me?"

"You see, that's where the fact that this is _Ellis_ comes in." Iris said gloomily. "Like we said before, they have a sadistic streak a mile long. Looking at their behavior before administering the curse, they probably sensed a connection between you two - and gave Trinity this curse instead of instantly trying to kill her. After all...well, you two would likely suffer more if Trinity perished slowly, am I right?"

Silence in the room. Trinity wasn't sure what terrified her more: the fact that she might actually die soon, the extent of this Ellis' wanton cruelty, or the fact that Terry looked like he wanted to legitimately kill someone.

"So…" Alberto said slowly. "What do we do now?"

Terry grit his teeth. "I don't know. The best plan right now seems to go back underground, track down this Ellis guy, and beat the tar out of them."

Olivia stared at him. "What?"

"Think about it. Even if there's no cure for this curse thing, Ellis was the one who cast it - they probably know how to dispel it. So, we could just find them and force them to undo the curse. If anything, maybe just straight-up killing them could work."

Jerry frowned. "That's...a very brash plan, especially for you. You sure about this?"

His expression faltered when Terry shot him a glare. "Do you have a better idea? I'm not about to just sit around and watch as Trinity slowly languishes and dies!"

Vincent raised his hands for order. "Okay, calm down. I thought about it for a bit, and honestly, Terry's plan seems like the one most likely to yield results. We know nothing about this curse, nor how to cure it - so seeking out Ellis themselves may actually be the best idea. And if you do this...well, if you're up for it, you could actually try and get to Archon to save the world a little earlier."

As Terry nodded, Vincent raised a finger in warning. "Beware, though. I'm sure you've probably inferred this by now, but the underground world is _dangerous as all hell._ This isn't something you can just walk into - if you go ahead and do this, then _you WILL die._ This isn't to scare you - it's the truth."

"I'm aware of that." Terry said. "That's a problem for me. If I actually want to go down there and save Trinity, I have a lot of preparing to do."

"Hey." Jerry told him. "You mean _we_ have a lot of preparing to do."

Terry turned around in surprise. "What?"

Olivia frowned at him. "You think we're going to let you do this alone? We've always been in things together - and even if it's something as insane as this, we're still willing to go with you."

Jerry nodded silently.

Terry sighed. "Guys...you have no reason to risk your lives for this. Trinity's well-being is _my_ responsibility."

"It's not our responsibility. It's our choice." Jerry assured him. "Besides, this isn't just for Trinity. Like Vincent said, if we can do something to save our world a bit earlier, then I'm willing to do it - and I'm sure Olivia is too."

Terry couldn't help but smile. "You guys…"

Simon raised his hand. "Forgive me for intruding...but I want to go down there as well."

Trinity tilted her head. "Why? You barely know any of us."

"Well, now that I know the truth, I want to help with this problem." Simon said adamantly. "This is something that could threaten civilization and the world as we know it, so I've just got to help with it in any way I can.

Just as Iris opened her mouth again, Simon cut her off. "And before you tell me it's dangerous, I know that - but this is an opportunity for me. I would rather risk my life down there trying to protect our world from those people than labor away investigating a case that nobody will believe in. At least with the former, I'll...have a chance to become the hero I wanted to be when I first became a police officer."

"Those are...interesting goals, but still perfectly valid." Vincent told him. "As a trained policeman, your assistance would be appreciated. However, if Terry here truly plans on going on this expedition, we won't be able to help him."

Terry frowned. "Why?"

"For a mission like this, you ideally want to be stealthy. Make a group excessively large, and it becomes just as excessively easy to detect." Vincent explained. "In addition, our top priority is consolidating our strength. Some of our underground bases may be able to provide assistance, but we're nearing the moment when we can launch an all-out attack to wipe out the Cult in one fell swoop. We would rather focus on that."

Terry nodded. "I understand."

Alberto raised a hand. "Um, can I go help Terry?"

Vincent shook his head. "No."

"Huh? Why?"

"Call me selfish, but I would rather not have my own son risking his life down there." Vincent said adamantly. Noticing Alberto's crestfallen expression, he sighed. "However, you could still be useful up here. You've practiced operating some of our remotely-controlled combat machines, so maybe you could help your friends that way."

Alberto just nodded.

Terry leaned back and sighed. "Well, I guess we really are doing this. However, we're going to need a lot of preparation. This is an unknown world we're going into - one likely filled to the brim with dangers. We should get started ASAP."

Iris nodded. "If it helps, you guys can stay here while you prepare. We have living quarters and the like in our primary base underneath the facility."

Olivia nodded. "I'll just tell my parents that I'm at a sleepover. They won't mind."

"I'll try and convince my parents the same thing." Jerry said, shooting an unnoticeable glance at Trinity. "If they don't agree...welp, I guess that's too bad for them."

Simon shrugged. "That'd be appreciated. I can call a vacation. I've been saving up a surprising amount of vacation time."

Trinity nodded. "That's great!"

Jerry raised his hand again. "Um, I hate to burst your bubble, but _possibly_ excluding Simon, none of us are trained in combat. Terry knows a lot of self-defense, and I know me and Olivia do too. Trinity has her weird powers and whatnot as well. But for something like this...I doubt that it'd be enough. At the least, we'd need training on how to wield weapons…"

"Oh, we can just train you." Vincent offered. "We didn't raise an army without any military experience, after all. We have people who can teach you - and honestly, us three could as well. We've got a decent amount of experience training soldiers."

To everyone's surprise, Terry smiled. "Hm. As a matter of fact, I think I may have a solution to that."

"And what might that be?" Vincent asked.

Terry chuckled and pulled out his cell phone.

 

_Somewhere, in a nearby country…_

Benjamin practically kicked open his front door and stumbled into his house, panting as the door creaked shut behind him. He sighed, shaking the snow off of his heavy winter clothes. He knew that the country that he lived in was often like this in the winter (and sometimes when it wasn't winter), but he never got used to it. For a high-ranking member of the military, he made a pretty big fuss over shoveling his driveway every day.

Taking off his winter clothes and hanging them on the nearby coat rack, Benjamin was about to go turn on the news when he heard his phone ring. Taking it out of his pocket, his eyes widened and he nearly dropped it when he saw who was calling him.

_Terry? But...he hasn't called me in so long!_

However, Benjamin smiled. His younger brother was the quiet type, and he was _very_ independent. In addition, Benjamin was far too busy to actually visit him - being the youngest person to achieve such a high military rank in recent history, his duties tended to eat up his free time. Having an opportunity to talk to his younger brother was a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

"Hey, Terry!" Benjamin said enthusiastically as he picked up the call. "You haven't called me in a while!"

"Sorry about that, Ben." came the response. "Listen, I hate to ruin this so quickly, but I've got something I have to ask of you."

Benjamin laughed. "That's okay! Go ahead."

With that, Terry told Benjamin everything. About how he met Trinity and how he raised her. About the underground world, and the cult trying to end humanity. About Trinity's current plight, and how they needed his help.

As they talked, Benjamin's smile dissolved into an expression of surprise. By the time Terry finished, however, Benjamin had regained his smile. "So what mom and dad were talking about was true? That...that's incredible!"

"Wait, you _knew_ about this?"

Benjamin shrugged. "Well, I kind of badgered our parents into leaking me some details. I never told anyone, of course. I don't think you were born at that time. But all of that is true...unbelievable!"

"Uh, okay." Terry said. "Well, can you help us? We could really use some training from an esteemed military leader like you - not to mention some actual help."

Benjamin laughed. "Are you kidding? Of course I'm going to come and help my younger brother. In fact, since I can fly a plane, I'm going to head over first thing tomorrow! I'm sure my superiors won't mind, they've been practically _asking_ me to take a break!"

"What? No, you don't have to come that quickly-"

But Benjamin had already hung up.

On the other end of the line, Terry slowly put down his phone. Trinity tilted her head quizzically. "Terry? What did he say?"

"Well...to put it simply, he's coming."

 

_Less than a day later…_

The wind blew through Terry's hair as he spotted the tiny plane circling the airport's runway, awaiting the signal to land. Beside him, Jerry put on his hood to protect his head from the cold breeze. "Huh, I didn't know you had a brother, Terry."

Terry shrugged. "He's always busy, so he hasn't come over in a long time. Plus, I...well, I don't talk to him a lot. I maintained a mostly solitary life."

Olivia tilted her head. "I wonder what he's like?"

Trinity smiled. "If he's anything like Terry, then I'm sure he'll be super nice!"

Terry couldn't help but smile. "Hey, you don't have to flatter me like that."

Soon, the plane got the okay signal and touched down on the runway. The instant the plane slowed to a stop, its pilot opened the cockpit and practically leapt out, landing neatly before Terry and his friends. Looking at the young man now standing before them, it was fairly obvious to see the relation between him and Terry. Benjamin looked almost exactly like an older version of Terry - he had the same messy black hair as his younger brother, and even shared his facial structure. However, compared to Terry, Benjamin looked a bit more enthusiastic.

"Terry!" Benjamin exclaimed, spreading his arms. "It's been a while!"

Terry smiled and ran up to his brother, accepting Benjamin's bear hug. "Yeah, it's good to see you again, Ben. It's been years..."

Benjamin laughed and freed Terry from his grip as he turned towards the youth standing behind him. "And these are your friends, right? Nice to meet you!"

Jerry, Olivia, Alberto, and Trinity waved at the same time. "Nice to meet you too!"

Benjamin's gaze swept over the quartet. "Let me see...you're Jerry, you're Olivia, you're...Alberto? Yeah, Alberto. And you...you're Trinity."

The four of them nodded.

"Heh, I didn't forget what Terry told me." Benjamin said with a chuckle. "Trinity...you're the spirit kid that Terry's been taking care of, right?"

"Yep!" Trinity said enthusiastically. She managed a small bow. "Thank you for coming to help us!"

"Hey, don't mention it." Benjamin said sheepishly. "Siblings look out for each other. Wait...aren't you the one that's sick with some kind of magic curse?"

"Uh...yeah." Trinity said slowly. "It's scary. But Terry and his friends are going through all of this effort to try and save me! Your brother was the one who got the idea to go underground and try to cure this curse! Terry's really nice...he's the best caretaker ever!"

Benjamin looked at Terry. "You've evidently raised her quite well, considering how highly she speaks of you."

Terry just shrugged. "Eh. Admittedly, I basically just put up with her at the beginning, but I'll admit she ended up growing on me."

"You _what?"_ Trinity complained. "Hey, I wasn't _that_ annoying when we first met, was I?"

Terry didn't answer, and Benjamin snorted. "Well, according to Terry, you've matured remarkably fast - and you've gained access to your past memories as well. A being that has lived two lives...I understand why Vivid Clarity finds you so interesting."

Trinity nodded, only to break into a coughing fit again. Before Terry could ask her if she needed anything, she regained her composure. "I...I'm fine."

"Anyways, down to business." Benjamin said, turning towards the group. "You're interested in me training you?"

Jerry nodded. "That would be greatly appreciated. You have experience with this, after all."

"Indeed I do. And I'm willing to help you." Benjamin replied, a steely glow surfacing in his eyes. "However, I want to let you know that if you really want to become competent enough to venture into an uncharted world, you're going to have to sharpen up. I won't go easy on you - even though this curse limits the amount of time we have, your training will be rigorous and difficult. So tell me now - are you ready for this?"

Jerry and Olivia nodded. "Of course!"

Terry nodded. "I'm willing to go through with it."

Trinity stood as tall as she could. "I'll do my best!"

"Alright then, future explorers!" Benjamin exclaimed enthusiastically. "Rest up today. We'll begin tomorrow morning. Our time is limited - so, that just means we're going to have to work extra hard to get ready for combat!"

All of them stood at attention. "Yes, sir!"

Benjamin smiled. _Heh. I like these kids already._

 

Several weeks passed, and like Benjamin had promised, their training had been rigorous. Every day, the future delvers would wake up early in the morning and train for nearly the entire day, with occasional breaks in between. While Benjamin _had_ actually dumbed down their training regimen a bit to account for the fact that his pupils were still high schoolers, the fact still remained that he was giving said high schoolers semi-professional military training. Fortunately, Terry and his friends were made of pretty stern stuff - it was clear that they were struggling, but they were still pushing forward.

Over time, they learned to overcome any challenges Benjamin set up for them. They learned how to launch coordinated attacks, and to work as a team. They learned how to predict the movements of their enemies, and how to wield weapons of war.

On the topic of said weapons of war, Kevin had gotten them to test out a number of his weapons, in order to see which ones they felt most comfortable with. It was easy to tell that he was very proud of his work - his eyes practically glowed every time they took one of his toys for a test run.

"Some of these weapons are a little...unorthodox." Simon had remarked.

To that, Kevin had laughed. "Those are Iris' designs. She sometimes pops down here and has me try and make some of her ridiculous weapon concepts."

Iris had shrugged. "Guilty."

Jerry had also raised the concern of their teachers growing suspicious that they were away from school, but Simon laughed it off. "School? When you're helping save the world from magic-slinging cultists, school should be the least of your worries!"

Vincent had just shrugged it off as well. "I'll see what I can do."

In the meantime, Vincent and the others were making other preparations. Vincent had compiled a list of supplies and weaponry that the group would likely need on their expedition, and was working to assemble them as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, since Alberto was forbidden from actually going to the underground, Iris and Kevin were training him on how to operate their remotely-controlled weapons systems, so that he could remotely assist his friends if the situation arose.

Although they needed it a bit less, on account of their prior training and magical powers respectively, Simon and Trinity still took part in the training regimen with earnest. However, it slowly became clear that Trinity's condition was worsening. As they trained, Trinity seemed to be becoming more and more drained, her normally expressive eyes dulling as if she had contracted some illness. She was no longer as energetic as she had used to be, now spending most of her spare time either lost in thought or in a semi-asleep state. While she insisted that she was fine, it was painfully obvious that she was anything but.

This worried Terry greatly. Trinity's overwhelming energy had sometimes been annoying, but the absence of said energy was even more unsettling. However, that was just another reason for Terry to work harder and keep training.

_The faster we can go down there and find Ellis, the better._

 

_Soon..._

As the six delvers stood at the entrance to the underground world, Vincent inspected the team, checking all of their equipment. Him and his team had equipped each of them with as much equipment as they could safely carry, which included things like food, survival supplies, and of course weaponry. Even with the miniature drones Kevin had made to help them carry things, each of them were still carrying a significant amount of goods.

As his teammates shuffled nervously, Terry took a look at the assault rifle he had chosen. Kevin had equipped all of them with light, bulletproof combat armor, along with their latest personal weapons, which for the most part were magnetic accelerator firearms - ones that used magnetic rails to instead of gunpowder to launch bullets. Despite their power - Terry had witnessed them easily meet or surpass the firepower of conventional weapons - they were surprisingly light, and didn't use a lot of power.

"Okay, you six." Vincent asked. "Do you have all of the supplies?"

Benjamin nodded. "I'm carrying all of the camping and survival supplies. Simon's got all of the maps and guides that you've provided. And the kids are carrying the rest, like the food and spare ammunition."

"Alright." Vincent said, satisfied. "We'll try to maintain communication as much as we can. Also, I've already told you this before, but use your weapons sparingly. Unless you come across some of our other bases, you likely won't be able to restock your ammo or recharge the guns. And you _will_ need these guns to defend yourselves against cultists, or even the local wildlife."

All of them nodded, only for Trinity to break into a wheezing cough again. As the others looked at her with concern, Terry ran over to her. "You alright?"

"...Let's just get down there...and hope...we can cure this quickly." she replied weakly.

Terry's heart skipped a beat when he looked at her core crystal and saw several more black streaks forming on its surface. Feeling her forehead, he grimaced. "She's getting even colder."

Vincent's face was grim. "Well, you heard her. You better get going. We've provided you with a number of the locations where Ellis is frequently seen, so make sure to search around those areas. When you cure Trinity, you can choose to escape, or to keep going and figure out how to awaken this Archon - no matter which one you choose, then we'll see what we can do to help you."

The six of them nodded.

Vincent stepped back and bowed. "Then, there is nothing else to say. Best of luck to you all."

As the six of them began their journey, each of them had a different thought running through their mind.

Jerry was determined. _We're going to save Trinity, and help beat that Cult while we're at it. As Terry's friend, and as a citizen of this world...it's my responsibility._

Olivia was worried. _This is dangerous...life-threatening...but I know we have to do it! This is for our world!_

Benjamin was resolute. _Our parents devoted their lives to researching this, and lost them partially due to this...now, it's my brother's turn to be troubled by it. I won't allow that. We'll defeat them, save that spirit, and maybe save the world while we're at it._

Simon was excited. _This is it...finally, a chance to be the hero of my dreams. Even if I don't save the world myself...I'm sure as hell going to help save it at the least._

Trinity was hopeful. _We're going down there, we're taking down that creep Ellis, and we're going to dispel this curse! If we don't, then...then I'll…_

Terry was focused. _All of you cultists, that ruined my parents' lives and my own...you're going to pay for what you've done. And Ellis...I'm coming for you._

And with that, they vanished into the dark caverns. Into the world of magic.


	8. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good lord why do these chapters just keep being so l a r g e
> 
> Also mass exposition so eyyyy

It had barely been a couple of days since Terry and his team had entered the underground, and they had already begun to see why Vincent had told them that the cave systems were essentially a different world. While it was still quite dark, it was nowhere near pitch-black - glowing crystals lined many of the walls, and massive luminescent mushrooms grew everywhere. As expected, the caves were massive and quite confusing - although the numerous maps that Vincent had supplied them with were helping immensely.

Surprisingly enough, surviving wasn't exceptionally difficult. Food and water were aplenty in the underground despite the lack of sunlight - it seemed that the light from the caves' glowing crystals somehow made up for it. With assistance from their guidebooks, the group didn't have much trouble finding edible flora or hunting down small fauna - allowing them to conserve their rations.

However, that wasn't to say that the fauna of the underground weren't troublesome. Quite the opposite, in fact. And since they were magical entities, Trinity's intangibility did nothing - meaning that they couldn't just cheese them.

"Aagh!"

"Trinity! Get down!"

Trinity yelped and ducked as the colossal ghostly serpent dove down and barely missed her, shrieking like a banshee all the while. As Trinity rolled to her feet and brandished her scythe, the serpent's translucent body coiled up as it turned to face her, its four golden eyes gleaming menacingly.

Raising his rifle, Terry grit his teeth. According to Vivid Clarity's guidebook, that thing was a Ghast - a particularly powerful airborne predator that roamed the underground. They had just encountered a group of aggressive fauna, and they had already had their hands full when this thing attacked. Terry and Trinity had gotten separated from the group, and now had to deal with this fiend.

The Ghast screeched again as it barreled towards them, picking up speed. Terry raised his rifle and fired a short burst, which punctured small holes in its flesh but otherwise did nothing to stop the thing as it opened its vertical maw in anticipation, the rows of grinding teeth within churning wildly. Just as it was about to ram them, Trinity leapt into the air and swung her scythe down at it, digging into its translucent armored head and cracking it. The Ghast's eyes widened as Trinity's blade stopped mere centimeters from one of its eyes, immediately shaking her off and pulling away.

Terry's eyes tracked the serpent as it circled them again. The holes he had punched in its body were leaking clear fluid, which was quickly coagulating and plugging its wounds. The Ghast's eyes glowed as it screamed, curled up, and shot a high-pressure air burst at the two of them. Both of them ducked as the blast struck, but the Ghast wasted no time diving at them and inhaling sharply. Terry dug his gun into the ground in order to stop himself from being sucked into its maw, while Trinity did the same with her scythe.

As Terry got to his feet and opened fire at his foe, cracking its head armor some more, Trinity slashed at it - only for the Ghast to open its mouth, extend four prehensile tongues, and snag Trinity by the ankle. The spirit yelped as the creature took off, taking her with it.

"Oh my god." Terry muttered to himself as Trinity screamed. "Trinity, hold on!"

The Ghast screeched, its four tongues attempting to stuff Trinity into its waiting maw. Magic flowing through her body, Trinity grabbed the thing's vertical jaws and started to pry them open. "No! I'm not food! Stop it!"

Trinity was about to jump out of the Ghast's grasp, but she suddenly went limp. Terry's eyes widened in surprise as he saw Trinity's form flicker, as if she was losing her grip on the physical world.

Never one to waste time, the Ghast immediately bit down on Trinity's arm and started trying to consume it. Trinity shrieked as she felt the Ghast's grinding teeth start to dig into her arm, shredding it. Flailing wildly, she generated her scythe and hammered away at the Ghast's head, but it refused to let her go.

"Ahhhh! It's eating me! Terry! Help! Help!" Trinity screamed.

"Hold on!" Terry yelled, "Let me just figure out how to take it down!"

"Just shoot at it!" Trinity yelled back, trying to pull her arm out of the serpent's chainsaw array of a mouth. "You have my crystal! I can't be killed!"

"Uh, you sure about that?"

"Just do it!" Trinity screamed as the Ghast tried to pull her into its mouth again.

Terry shrugged, took aim, and unleashed a stream of gunfire. The barrage ripped more holes in the Ghast's transparent outer membrane, but several punched through its weakened head armor and took out its eyes. Screeching in pain, the Ghast dropped Trinity and spastically fled the scene as the spirit unsteadily floated down to the ground.

"You okay?" Terry asked.

Despite the fact that her arm was practically mangled and spewing blue sparks, and that she had several bullet holes in her torso, Trinity gulped and nodded. "They'll...heal."

"Hey, those must hurt. Just take a break-"

Trinity shook her head. "Wounds...are just temporary for me. Pain...is nothing."

"Whoa, calm down." Terry said, concerned by Trinity's words. "Also, what happened up there? You kind of...faded for a moment."

Trinity didn't answer. "It was nothing. Let's go help the others now.

"Hey, hold up one moment, kid!"

But Trinity had already dashed off in their friends' direction.

Terry shook his head. _What the hell's gotten into her?_

Meanwhile, Simon yelled and aimed his weapon, firing a rocket that struck his foe head-on and exploded. The giant icy-blue snake - known as a Cryoserpent - shook its head and hissed in anger, the blast having blown off its first layer of frozen scales.

Simon rolled to the left as the Cryoserpent spat a bolt of frigid fluid, which instantly solidified into a cluster of ice spikes when it touched the floor. Right afterwards, Benjamin raised his gun and shot it in the head several times, killing it.

As another one reared back and lunged at him, Benjamin ducked to the side and opened fire, shearing off its scale armor. As the cold radiating from its body stung his skin, he grit his teeth. _God damn it. If those notes are right, that endothermic aura it generates will instantly freeze me dead if I touch it. So much for my plan of using a blunt weapon to just shatter its armor…_

A couple meters away, Jerry and Olivia backed away as they fired at their foes - a group of giant lizards that Vivid Clarity had named Flame Stalkers. These beasts had metallic skin and what amounted to an internal blast furnace - one that they were using for all it was worth as they shot gouts of white-hot flame, blasts of molten rock, and rays of pure heat at the fleeing targets. They were thankfully inaccurate, but the residual heat was still nearly unbearable.

 _These guys are miracles of evolution._ Jerry thought. _Too bad they're trying to kill us..._

Olivia narrowly dodged a red-hot ball of magma and took aim with her high-caliber rifle. Pulling the trigger, she struck one of the Flame Stalkers cleanly in the head, puncturing its mineralized hide. Almost instantly, flames spewed out of the wound as the beast violently exploded, taking with it a group of Cryoserpents that were trying to pick a fight with the Stalkers.

Just as Jerry took aim again, Trinity leapt in front of him, bisecting one of the Stalkers and telekinetically launching it into a Cryoserpent before it exploded. Swinging wildly, she struck down several more Cryoserpents, their frigid bodies clattering to the ground.

Noticing a Cryoserpent cornering Benjamin against a dead tree, Trinity leapt at it and slashed, cracking its armor and getting its attention. As the two of them leapt at each other, Benjamin shouted a warning.

"Trinity! Wait, that thing's endothermic aura-"

Trinity found this out the hard way as the serpent brushed against her, causing her to scream as an ungodly amount of pain shot through her body. As a spirit, her body had no fluid to freeze - but she still felt the pain of being exposed to its nearly absolute-zero body temperature. Hastily rolling away from the creature, she lunged at it and quickly dodged as it opened its mouth and fired another bolt of supercooled fluid. Jamming her scythe's blade into its open mouth and practically slicing the thing lengthwise, she shivered and shook off the cold from touching the magical serpent.

"I can't believe you just did that!" Benjamin yelled, running after her as she raced towards the next batch of enemies. "If you weren't a spirit, you'd be a very dead popsicle now! Be careful, for god's sake!"

Simon followed suit, but not before blowing up a Cryoserpent. "Trinity, you can't just run in like that! Be careful!"

As Trinity ignored them and shot towards the bunch of Flame Stalkers harassing Jerry and Olivia, one of them turned towards her and roared. The air shimmered like a mirage as a glowing sphere of rippling fire formed around it - the Vivid Clarity notes claimed that it was a barrier of pure heat.

Trinity paid no heed and leapt straight at it, screaming as the heat barrier instantly blasted some of her fingers into blue sparks. Backing up to regenerate, Trinity simply hefted her scythe and hurled it at the Stalker too fast for the heat aura to fully disintegrate it, piercing its armored hide and causing it to explode. As the others turned around and began opening fire, Trinity recreated her scythe and weaved in between the fireballs, cutting them apart and ignoring the searing explosions that followed.

Within the next couple of minutes, the six of them butchered the remnants of their enemies. As the last Flame Stalker collapsed in a heap, a steaming Cryoserpent still clasped in its mouth, the team holstered their weapons and tried to calm their nerves. Most of them were relatively unharmed, save for first degree burns and what seemed like mild hypothermia. However, Trinity was an absolute mess - her dress was scorched black in multiple places, one of her legs had nearly been crushed, and she looked so tired she could drop at any moment.

"Trinity!" Terry yelled, running up to her. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Trinity stared at him listlessly. "We did it...did I do a good job? Was I useful?"

To her surprise, Terry grabbed her by the shoulders. "Are you an idiot? Why in blazes were you being so reckless? Just running at all of those enemies with no plan, ignoring all of those injuries you were getting...if you weren't a spirit, you would have _died_ several times over by now! Do you understand that?"

Trinity was a bit shocked. "But as long as that crystal is safe, I can't die...I can do the things that you can't…"

"But you're still feeling pain!" Olivia shouted. "Seeing you get hurt like that...well, it pains us too!"

"R-Really…I can regenerate from anything, though..."

Terry looked her in the eyes, dead seriousness in his expression. "Trinity. Is there something wrong? This really isn't like you. If something's up, I want you to spit it out. I'm your caretaker, and all of us are willing to help you."

Trinity fell silent for a bit. Then, she spoke up.

"I...I can feel this curse getting faster. I didn't want to worry you too much, but I keep feeling more and more sick. More and more like I'm...fading from the world. Sometimes, everything goes blurry, and I suddenly feel disconnected from reality. It's scary...and I'm scared. But since I might...vanish soon, then...I supposed that I would make myself as useful as possible before...before I die."

Terry backed up in shock as Olivia put her hands over her mouth. Jerry and Benjamin hung their heads, and Simon averted his eyes.

"Trinity...you goddamn fool." Terry muttered quietly, placing a hand on her shoulder. "If it was this bad...why didn't you tell us? You're a part of our team, and you're our friend. We can help you as much as we can...and you don't need to worry about us worrying."

Trinity looked up at him guiltily. "I...I'm sorry."

Terry stared into the distance. "Trinity, mark my words. We are going to find Ellis.  We are going to beat them so badly that they'll wish they were never born. And we are going to cure this curse before it's too late. I...we can promise you this."

Trinity broke into another coughing fit, before looking up at him dejectedly. "I'll try to keep going...but wishes don't always come true. What if…"

Terry didn't answer.

 

Over the next couple of days, the situation gradually got worse. Between fighting the creatures of the underground and surviving, the group was finding it more difficult to do either of them. They had visited many of the spots where Ellis had been sighted before, but the masked figure had still eluded them. The creature attacks were getting more frequent, and the local wildlife was getting more and more dangerous as they approached the depths of the caverns. Supplies were slowly but steadily running out, and several of the storage drones they had started the expedition with had been trashed by aggressive fauna.

Meanwhile, Trinity seemed to be teetering on the brink of death. While she still helped fight the creatures of the depths with a lively vigor, the fatigue in her eyes was as clear as day. Unless forced to do something, most of her time was spent lying around listlessly, bundled up in blankets to ward off a frigid cold that didn't exist. Much to everyone's distress, her body was slowly becoming more and more translucent, like she was indeed losing her grasp on reality. And if that wasn't enough, her crystal was slowly becoming more and more tainted - black streaks spreading through it like some kind of dark plague.

Although Terry didn't mention it, everyone could see that he was losing hope. When he wasn't foraging for supplies or slaughtering attackers, he spent most of his time silently watching over Trinity, helping with anything she needed. Terry continued their mission with a hard heart and a clear goal, but it was evident that he was in pain. Terry wasn't the type of person to become too close to people, but Trinity had been an exception - so losing Trinity would likely devastate him.

However, today the team had been walking towards their next destination, and they had bypassed a dimly lit underground lake, complete with a large waterfall. As they stopped to pick up some of the fruits in the area, they had the misfortune of getting caught up in a large-scale battle between four different species trying to nab some food for themselves. Now, they were fighting for their lives yet again.

Jerry ducked behind a rock formation as his insectoid oppressor opened its mandibles and shot out a sizzling bolt of lightning - one that burned away the grass in its path but still failed to penetrate Jerry's cover. Gritting his teeth, he raised his rifle and noticed Olivia in hiding nearby, taking aim.

The creature - known as a Helion - gingerly started looking for the most efficient way over the rock, the sounds of its three helical legs moving making Jerry's blood run cold. The predator greatly resembled a bacteriophage, save for the bulging eyes and electrified mandibles sticking out of the front side of its body. He had read up on the Helion, and it was apparently an extremely proficient predator - packing natural radar, incredible mobility, devastating electrical blasts, and even _magical force fields._

_Good lord, evolution must have had a field day down here._

The Helion let out a clicking noise as it compressed its legs, before using them to spring straight over the rock formation. As it landed next to Jerry, Olivia fired before it could attack, her bullet striking the Helion's barrier and shattering it. With its barrier destroyed, Jerry just lashed out at it with a combat knife and buried the weapon hilt-deep into the icosahedral organ that made up most of its body. Just as the guide had said, the Helion shrieked and immediately went limp as the organ deflated.

"You okay?" Olivia asked him.

"Discounting the heart attacks this is giving me, then yes." Jerry replied.

Olivia just nodded and turned towards the next group of Helions that were approaching, raising her weapon in anticipation. Those things were supposed to be solitary hunters, but they were all here for some reason. To be fair, they _were_ seemingly competing to see which one of them would be able to incapacitate and devour the delvers first.

Meanwhile, Simon and Benjamin ran along the outskirts of the lake, firing at their waterborne enemies. Floating on the lake's surface like it was solid, several insectoid Aqua Skaters remained at a distance, hissing violently. Both of them had read up on the Aqua Skaters - they were primarily herbivorous yet extremely territorial relatives of the Helion, evolved for an aquatic lifestyle. While they lacked the heavy arsenal of their lightning-slinging cousins, their primary means of attack was arguably just as lethal.

As Benjamin shot down several of the Aqua Skaters, one of them shuddered and unleashed a high-pressure water jet at him. Benjamin quickly rolled as the jet sliced through the air above him, shearing through a tree along with several rocks. Taking advantage of the Skater's clean cut through the tree, Benjamin shoulder-checked it, causing it to topple into the water and scatter the Skaters.

Simon grit his teeth. _God damn it! Why does the local wildlife still get natural abrasive jet cutters? What happened down here to create such creatures?_

Just as the water-borne creatures turned to unleash another barrage of abrasive jets, several Helions attacked from the other direction, using electric blasts to turn the water's surface into a sparking death trap. As the Skaters were fried, Simon took the opportunity to fire several rockets at the Helions, blasting them to shreds before they could set up shields. Evidently their ability to detect electrical signatures meant nothing if Simon just launched an attack from outside of their range.

Farther away from the lake, Terry and Trinity took shelter as two semi-organized groups of creatures clashed head-on. On one side, there were the Drakins - intelligent, humanoid lizard-looking things which were apparently the wildlife that were the closest to forming a society. On the other side were the Prismars - giant, stony-armored crabs covered in vibrant glowing crystals that could absorb life force at will. On the topic of the Prismars, Terry had read how their crystals could be extracted and essentially used as instant healing - while it had worked on them, it had failed to dispel Trinity's curse.

As the two hordes tore at each other and brawled furiously, a number of them splintered off and started heading towards Terry and Trinity. As Terry raised his weapon in anticipation, Trinity glared at them. "I...will try to handle this. You can run."

Terry just nodded. He had tried to convince Trinity to let go of the suicidal recklessness that had overtaken her as of late, but had somewhat given up. After all, if she was truly going to die soon...then Terry had no right to stop her from doing what she wanted. And if what she wanted was to be useful to the party...then so be it.

As Terry took off in the direction of their friends, a Prismar lunged at him - only for Trinity to leapt at it and crack its armor with a well-placed blow from her scythe. As several Prismars attempted to aid their comrade, Trinity blocked their claw swipes and retaliated while Terry backed away, firing all the while. Several Drakins stomped into the fray, some taking advantage of the situation to tear into the Prismars while others attacked Trinity herself. Trinity kept fighting, but she was already beginning to tire.

Just as Terry met up with the rest of his team, he heard a sickening crunch behind him as one of the Drakins landed a solid blow to Trinity's head, sending her flying in their direction with a shrill scream. As she skidded to a stop beside them, she kept wailing and clutching her head as she rolled around in confusion and agony. Judging from the sound that the impact made, that strike should have crushed Trinity's skull like an eggshell - it must have been unbearably painful.

"Trinity's incapacitated." Terry said, masking the pain in his voice. "There are a lot more enemies than I thought. This...is not optimal."

Benjamin grit his teeth. "Yeah. I don't like our odds."

Simon raised his gun. "Well, I'm not about to sit around and become monster chow. We'll fight the good fight."

Jerry and Olivia nodded.

So, as the five of them raised their weapons, the hordes of magical creatures roared towards them, tearing at themselves all the while.

However, just as they moved into attacking range, the air in front of them shimmered with verdant light. Then, a tangled cluster of earthen vines erupted from the dirt, snaking towards the horde and catching it off guard. As the delvers looked on in dumbfounded shock, the vines rushed at their attackers and began to strangle them. As the twisted advance crushed the life out of many of the beasts, the remaining ones turned tail and fled.

Then, as quickly as they had appeared, the vines withered and sank back within the earth.

"What...what the hell was that?" Benjamin asked incredulously.

To their shock, an elderly-sounding voice from behind them replied. "Well, to answer your question, that would be me."

Whipping around in shock, the party stared dumbfoundedly as a strange figure slowly walked into view. The figure appeared to be a tall old man adorned with a green robe which rode a thin line between exquisite and ancient. A glowing wooden staff was clutched in one of his hands.

As the figure approached them, Terry raised his weapon. However, the man laid down his staff and raised his hands in a gesture of peace. "Calm down, young lad. I'm merely an old man who's curious about the new guests in his neighborhood. It has been some time since surface dwellers came down here…"

Terry lowered his weapon, but his face was still full of suspicion. "Who are you?"

The man surveyed them with a pair of golden eyes. "My name is Granberg. I'm just an old mage who lives around these parts. So, let's see...two, four, six individuals? You guys seem quite prepared, so you probably didn't fall down here."

However, he quickly turned back towards Trinity, who was getting up and rubbing her head. "Wait...hold on one moment! Is that a _spirit?"_

Terry nodded. _No point in lying to him._

This discovery seemed to have ignited a fiery light in Granberg's eyes. "My, my. This is quite the discovery. I knew the folks up at Vivid Clarity were doing a good job, but this...this is something else. That's quite impressive!"

Simon blanched. "You know about Vivid Clarity?"

Granberg nodded. "I know a great many things. Unlike most of my people, I try to observe the outside world as much as possible." Surveying the party again, he shook his head. "You all look quite battered. I'm not surprised, since surviving down here is already difficult for one of us, much less a surface dweller. Would you be so kind as to join me for a moment? I can bring you to my domicile, and I'll see what I can do to help you. And while I'm at it...I'd love to hear more about what you're doing down here."

Terry looked a bit suspicious, and Granberg nodded. "You are under no obligation to accept. This is a brand new world to you. You have every right to be suspicious...especially since many of the others are not as kind as I am."

Benjamin leaned in close. "Terry, I still think we should go. He could give us a lot more information about this place, and we really are pretty battered."

Jerry nodded. "It seems like the best option at this point."

Terry sighed and turned back towards the elderly mage. "Alright, then. We'll come with you."

Granberg's lips curled into a faint smile. "Excellent. Now, follow me. I don't live too far from here, but I'll still try to make the journey as quiet as possible."

So, with that, Granberg started walking as the group followed him. Noticing that Trinity was having trouble standing up, Terry gingerly picked her up and carried her on his back before following his group.

 

"Wow." Jerry breathed. "Just...wow."

Granberg chuckled. "I get that a lot."

Jerry wasn't the only one who was stunned. Despite having been walking through the dark caves mere seconds earlier, the group had suddenly walked into what seemed like a chunk of the surface world that had been moved underground. There was no cave ceiling in sight - the top of the area looked exactly like a cloudless summer sky, complete with rays of sunlight shining down on them. Verdant green grass covered every square centimeter of the massive space, and trees were aplenty. In the center of it all stood a massive tree, one that had evidently been converted into a house of sorts. Beside it, a small lake shimmered, a nearby waterfall carrying fresh water straight to it.

"What?" Benjamin asked. "Are we still underground?

"This is one of the many things we can do with magic, my friend." Granberg replied. "The ceiling of this cave is covered in a magic field, which in turn was linked to the surface. I won't go into too much detail, but it allows the magic field to essentially replicate the sky on the surface."

As the six of them gawked, Granberg smiled. "Well, this is our home. We don't really call it anything except "home", but one of my students suggested that we call it the Idyll. You may call it whatever you want."

"Wait, did you say students?" Olivia asked. "There are others here?"

Granberg nodded and pointed. Sure enough, there were dozens of people running around the place. They looked like humans of various ages - although most of them seemed to be on the young side - but they were likely underground dwellers just like Granberg himself.

"Who are those people?" Simon asked.

"My students, of course." Granberg replied. "I'm not sure if you've been told this, but magic isn't just something that every underground dweller learns. And people willing to teach others magic are surprisingly scarce. That's why I decided to start a school for aspiring magic users."

"That's very kind of you." Jerry told him.

Granberg chuckled. "Well, if one wants to learn magic, the other option would be to join the Cult of Archon. Compared to those nutters, I must seem like a saint."

Terry turned towards him, still carrying a drowsy Trinity on his back. "The Cult of Archon? Do you know something about them?"

"...Would you kill me if I said I used to be a part of it?"

Olivia looked at Terry urgently just in case he actually tried it, but the boy just shrugged. "Hm. Okay."

As they walked towards the giant tree in the center of the Idyll, the group could feel countless eyes on them. Murmurs began circulating through the mages-in-training.

"Who are they?"

"Are those surface dwellers?"

"Why are they here?"

"What's with that little girl that's with them? They feel...special."

Noticing that Trinity had barely reacted to all of this, Terry shook her awake. "Look around, Trinity. Doesn't this place look wonderful?"

Normally, Trinity would be overflowing with ecstatic curiosity. However, now she barely even nodded as she registered the scenery.

Terry grit his teeth. _Damn it. Come on…_

Noticing the gathering crowd, Granberg raised his staff and waved it around. "You're making my guests feel uneasy! Shoo! All of you! Give us some space!"

As per his request, the crowd dispersed and allowed them to move through. Soon enough, they had reached a set of massive double doors built into the side of the tree. Granberg snapped his fingers, and the doors magically swung open.

"Please, come in."

 

_A couple minutes later…_

Granberg nodded. "And you've been taking care of her this whole time? Interesting...so, Vivid Clarity has truly made a spirit. That's quite impressive, but I really didn't expect much less from people willing to wield magic and technology in tandem. Since the Cult refuses to touch human technology, I suppose they've been shooting themselves in the foot all this time."

As the six of them stared at the old man curiously, he cleared his throat. "Hm, I suppose I've got to at least treat my guests well. Hey, if anyone is there, can you grab the some of the snacks and refreshments from the kitchen? I think we have a couple spares."

Soon enough, a young teen dashed into the room, a number of biscuit-carrying plates hovering around him. As he set them down, Granberg frowned. "Are we out of drinks?"

"Yeah. The last bunch of kids took the last ones."

"Tch. Alright, I'll make them myself." Granberg grumbled as he got up and headed into the kitchen.

The room fell silent as the group looked at their newcomer. He looked slightly older than Terry, and seemed fairly normal - but there was a kind of otherworldly aura around him. It was clear that he wasn't human, and his faintly glowing red eyes didn't help either.

However, the boy soon smiled. "You're all nervous. Don't be. Granberg might seem all wise and intimidating, but I assure you that he's way cooler than he lets on. Take it from someone who grew up under his guidance for nearly his entire life."

Before the boy could elaborate further, Granberg returned with a plate of what looked like iced tea. "I've been studying what surface dwellers enjoy, so these are kind of like my experiments. I think these may be to your liking."

The group gratefully took the food. For mere experiments, Granberg had replicated the taste of normal food remarkably well. The biscuits were light and buttery, and the drinks actually tasted like iced tea.

"Come on, Trinity." Terry said, gingerly waving a biscuit in front of her face.

Instead of grabbing it and happily consuming it like she should have, she stared at it listlessly. "Tired...don't wanna..."

Terry put a hand to his forehead and held back a scream of frustrated worry.

"Thanks for the snacks, but we've told you a bit about ourselves." Benjamin told Granberg. "Mind telling us a bit about yourself?"

"Hm. Alright." Granberg replied. "My name is simply Granberg - I can't remember ever having a surname. I've forgotten exactly how old I am, but I estimate that I'm about ninety-something. Ever since I was your age, I was studying magic - I was fortunate enough to be born in a town where magic flourished. I became an adept in nature magic, excelled in all of my classes, and soon ended up finding this staff to bolster my arts even further."

He patted the staff leaning on his chair. The ornate wooden rod didn't glow or anything, but it still radiated with an odd pressure that held whispers of its power. "This staff here was crafted from the branches of an immortal tree that was planted before human memory - and still stands to this day. I stumbled upon this tree of legend one day, prompted by a mystical drive that whispered in my mind and told me to craft this staff out of it. On that day, I had felt like I had truly been blessed by the divine!"

The boy from before snorted. "That's just he wants you to believe. He made it from a perfectly normal, magic-conducting tree he found in his backyard. Well, to his credit, it wasn't normal - it was dying."

"Ah...hey!" Granberg yelled at him. "They didn't need to know that! That was totally unnecessary!"

The boy smiled. "You really don't need to try and make yourself seem so cool, sir."

"If all you're going to do is ruin my speeches, then shoo! Begone with you!"

As the boy hastily took his leave before Granberg could yell some more, the old man just sighed and shook his head. "Er...anyways. So, eventually, my parents took notice of my unusual magical aptitude and inducted me into the Cult of Archon…"

"What?" Terry asked incredulously.

"Give me a second." Granberg insisted. "Admittedly, I spent a large portion of my life in the cult, and I honestly believed in their purpose for some time."

"What purpose would that be?" Terry asked.

"Well, I'm sure you're aware of this, but the Cult holds a fierce grudge against the humans of the surface - one that is honestly quite justified." Granberg told them. "However, what was once a noble purpose has since been twisted by generations of hatred - and eventually, I came to realize that the purpose that the Cult fought for was not the one that I believed in. Also...in secret, I began to use magic to observe the outside world...and I realized that there was good in humanity, contrary to what the Cult had drilled into my mind."

This had raised more questions than answers, but Terry just nodded.

"So, I just decided to leave." Granberg continued. "They were more lenient at the time, so they let me off on the condition that I wouldn't oppose them - if I had tried such a stunt today, there would have been no hope for me. Then, I decided to establish a safe haven for students of magic - ones that weren't fortunate enough to be born in magic-rich settlements, yet still didn't want to join the Cult of Archon. And here I am...talking to surface dwellers for the first time in many years."

"Hmm." Simon mused. "You seem like quite the heroic figure."

Granberg laughed. "Trust me, I was a lot more unruly in my youth. And if the words of my students are to be accepted as truth, I still am."

Terry raised his hands. "Hold up. You mentioned a reason for the Cult's grudge against humanity. Could you explain exactly what that is?"

"I was waiting for you to ask. In the process, I also have an excuse to explain the history of our world - something I'm sure you're quite curious about."

The group wasn't particularly interesting in a history lesson, but they really _were_ interested in this magical world's past. So, Jerry answered for them. "Sure, go ahead."

Granberg leaned back and stretched as if to physically prepare himself. "Alright, then. I might be rambling for a while, so try not to fall asleep, okay?"

"...Uh, sure."

 

"Hm...where to start?" Granberg began. "Obviously, I don't know about this firsthand - I'm not _that_ old - but from our history books, the dwellers of the underground used to live on the surface countless millennia ago. In fact, we used to be no different from the rest of humanity - and humanity was pretty simple at the time."

As the group nodded, Granberg sighed. "That all changed on one fateful day. According to writings of old, a colossal creature suddenly descended from the stars one day. A dragon made of blazing starfire and cosmic steel that pulsed with images of the cosmic firmament, possessing radiant eyes which shimmered like auroras…that is how the writings described this deific entity. If that doesn't sound like cosmic god material to you, then you should probably see your local doctor."

"Is that the Archon guy that the Cult worships?" Simon asked.

Granberg nodded. "The people of old gave him that name later, but that was indeed Archon. But this dragon was no mere beast - immediately after landing, he began communicating with the humans. Apparently, he claimed to have travelled the stars for countless eons - and now wanted to share a gift with humanity, with the intention of observing them and seeing what they did with it. No points for guessing what that gift was."

"It was the gift of magic, right?" Benjamin asked.

Granberg nodded again. "Archon was the precursor of all magic - even to this day, all of our world's magic can be traced back to him, which should give you an impression of how powerful this guy was. Over time, Archon blessed the land with his magic, and taught the life of Earth how to use it. Humans, plants, animals - all of the life in that region gained this gift. Generations passed, and the humans he had blessed built up a medieval-esque civilization of magic. Wielding powers that were formerly beyond their imagination, humanity began leading an idyllic life - one where they lived peacefully under the guidance of kings, who in turn worshipped this god from the stars."

"That seems nice and all." Olivia said. "Did something go wrong?"

"Patience, child." Granberg said sternly. "But you're right. Something did go wrong, and that something was the dark side of humanity itself. Over time, they began to take their gifts for granted, and they also started to realize the dark potential in magic. Rulers became corrupt, more powerful mages developed superiority complexes, and weaker citizens became discontent. I won't sweat the details, but it ended up resulting in a colossal war that engulfed much of the land."

Jerry gulped. "Well, that escalated quickly."

Granberg sighed. "Archon himself was content to watch the conflict play out, but as the atrocities of the war piled higher and higher, he became distraught. After all, it was _his_ gift that had brought upon this war, and he could not stand for humanity causing its own extinction. So Archon made it his mission to stop the war - using peace when he could, and force when he needed to. Make no mistake, Archon was a fairly benevolent entity - but even he wasn't above passing judgement on wrongdoers. And there were a _lot_ of wrongdoers - war truly brings out the worst in humanity. Archon found himself unable to solve humanity's problems with negotiation, and ended up having to forcibly put a halt to the war - by scouring the battlefields with his starfire. Humanity faced the wrath of the cosmic deity, and was quickly put back into order upon witnessing such a display of power. Archon's judgement was bloody, but it also brought a swift end to the war."

"God damn." Simon muttered.

The old mage went on. "Archon was remorseful for what he had done, but made it clear that humanity had forced his hand. However, the survivors of the war soon became bitter. Not just because he had violently ended the war, but because this display of strength had made them realize exactly how powerful the dragon truly was. And if there was one thing that the rulers of the time couldn't stand, it was the existence of someone stronger than them. Within due time, everyone began to fear and despise Archon. They kept worshipping him, but now said worship was out of reluctant fear rather than true reverence."

"That's not fair!" Olivia exclaimed. "He gave humanity magic and saved them from extinction, and they treat him like that?"

"Life isn't fair, child." Granberg muttered. "But Archon was still quite guilty for what he had done, and seeing the same humans he had nurtured turn against him pained his heart. So, in answer to their fear, he decided to take his leave from the world, so that humankind wouldn't have to fear him anymore. But..."

"But what?" Simon asked. "Go on!"

"Legend said that right before he did the deed, a young, commoner child defied the rules of their town and went on a journey to visit the heavy-hearted dragon. Despite the dragon's immense power, the child didn't show any fear or contempt like most of humanity - only gratefulness to the dragon for granting humankind magical abilities, and gratefulness to him for granting them the magic that they had used to save their family from a terrible plague. Surprised at this gratefulness - something that he hadn't been shown in a while - Archon watched as the child fell to their knees, begging him to stick with humanity."

As the group stared in surprise, Granberg continued. "Archon had pretty much made up his mind, but the child's purehearted reverence had touched his heart. So, Archon decided to partially grant his wish. After an unknown amount of discussion, Archon agreed that he would seal himself away deep underground instead of leaving their world, and that he would return on one condition of the child's choosing. The child thought carefully, struck a balance between easy and impossible, and made their choice."

"If a being of pure magic approached on their own free will…" Terry breathed.

Olivia managed a smile. "Aww, that's really sweet. What happened to the child?"

"The moment they got back to their hometown, apparently the nobles found out what they had done. The child was executed the day after." Granberg said simply. Noticing Olivia's horrified expression, he just shrugged. "Life was cruel back then."

"So...now that condition exists. Archon _can_ actually be brought back." Simon said slowly. "What does that cult have to do with this?"

"Well, you see, the rulers of the world would rather have had Archon leave permanently." Granberg told them. "However, there were a great many people who were furious at how humanity had caused Archon to seal himself away. They still saw Archon as their god, and revered him for giving them magic. So, it wasn't long before these people decided to form a radical group. Need I explain more?"

"So...that was how the cult was formed?" Simon asked incredulously. "But they seem pretty heroic...what made them the way they are now?"

"First off, you have to understand what happened to them." Granberg replied. "This radical group expanded rapidly, and eventually decided to stage an uprising - starting with the central kingdom that essentially served as the centerpiece for the civilization of magic. However, they underestimated the power that the royals had been hoarding for themselves. The group managed to seize several smaller villages, but the main kingdom became wary and quickly put the revolt to a bloody end."

"Wow, this time period seemed really damn violent." Jerry muttered.

"That's because it was, child." Granberg said, a little exasperated that Jerry would need to question that fact after everything he had said. "The royals were furious with the transgressors, and decided to make an example out of them. Taking their strongest sorcerers, they banished this group underground and sealed them away with the strongest barrier they could procure. So, as the ages passed, the mages that were sealed underground made settlements and developed, becoming the underground society you see now. The magical creatures and other remnants of Archon's power that they had accidentally sealed down here also evolved and learned to thrive in this skyless world. Conversely, the humans of the surface eventually got paranoid and started trying to stamp out magic - and, as seen by the total lack of magic on the surface today, their mission was a complete success."

Simon was confused. "You still haven't told us why the Cult is trying to wipe out humanity."

"Be a little patient, will ya? This is a lot of storytelling." Granberg groaned. "Ok, it is true that the Cult originally had noble intentions. After locating Archon's core in the underground caves - why the kingdom had sealed them in the same cave as their god is beyond me - their original plan was to learn how to develop an entity of pure magic, so that they could resurrect their god and potentially bring judgment on the humans that had wronged him. But over time, these intentions became twisted by generations of hatred. What had once been a quest to avenge their god soon became a desire for petty revenge - to obliterate all of the humans that had wrongly sealed them away. And as they secretly observed humanity discarding the gifts that Archon had gifted them and becoming increasingly corrupt, this disgusted them further. Cue many more generations, and now you get an army of madmen who want to exterminate all life on the surface - and want to reawaken their god to do just that."

"Damn." Olivia muttered. "To think that these guys started with such a relatively noble cause…hate really does things to you, huh?"

Benjamin raised his hands. "That doesn't make sense, though. If these desires are so irrational, then why has nobody snapped out of it yet?"

Granberg leaned back. "Do you recall how I said if I tried to leave the cult now, it wouldn't have been possible?"

"Yes…"

"Well, that's because there's a particular hereditary power holding the thing together - one that's steadily increased in strength over the ages." the old mage said bitterly. "I'm not sure if they popped up while the underground civilization was growing or if they were sealed there since the beginning, but there was a particular person who was born with a terrifying power - one that I've dubbed "Absolute Authority". This power allowed its wielder to seize the minds of the weak-willed - essentially letting them control the minds of people that don't have a lot of willpower. Not sure where this power came from - especially since it only works well on magical humans - but nearly the _entire population_ of the underground is kind of...lost. To be fair, if you don't have a purpose like me, being stuck down here in the dark while knowing there's another world you can't enter will make pretty much anyone depressed. Unfortunately, there was a particular descendant of the first Absolute Authority wielder who wielded this power a bit later. They were easily the most insane of any Cultist to exist - and even more unfortunately, rallying against the surface _was_ a valid purpose that the lost dwellers were willing to accept. To make matters worse, every child that this person sired would also inherit Absolute Authority and continue their parent's twisted mission."

Simon was deep in thought. "But surely one of those people would break the cycle, right? Surely one of the mages with Absolute Authority wouldn't be a misanthropic lunatic?"

Granberg sighed. "That's the complicated part. The original users of this power knew this - but their hatred for the surface was so strong that they decided to do the unthinkable. They produced a curse that would infuse an entity with their thoughts, their memories, and most of all their _will._ The original wielder of this power set a standard to only have one child - which was passed on through generations. Once a wielder was about to die, the curse would take effect - transferring the same desire to end humanity to that child, and essentially making them a vessel of their will. The members of this bloodline lead the cult to this day, yet they do not have wills of their own. They are all parts of a whole - parts of the will of Absolute Authority."

"What the hell?" Jerry exclaimed incredulously. "That's messed up."

Granberg nodded. "You've got that right. And the current leader is even worse. I..."

Terry was shocked as a tear traced its way down Granberg's face.

"Adam…" the elderly mage whispered. "Damn it all. I knew him quite well before I left. In fact, I actually taught him for a while. He was such a wonderful child. Energetic, selfless, loyal - and for better or for worse, obedient. Yet his father had fallen ill to a disease - so he triggered the curse far too early. For such a young child to have gotten several generations' worth of maddened, hateful memories forced into their mind...I wouldn't be surprised if there was nothing left of that child after the curse was done with him. Now...many years have passed, but he's likely still nothing short of a broken lunatic in charge of an army totally loyal to him, with the mind of a person far too young to shoulder such things."

Terry grit his teeth. "This cult seems really tragic and all...but I still can't forgive them. They've wronged me too much...and they've also wronged _her_ as well. Because of them, Trinity..."

Granberg looked at Trinity, only to gawk when he realized that she had been asleep for the entire time. "Oi! What did I say about not falling asleep during my story?"

Trinity didn't move.

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Granberg growled, reaching over to flick the girl awake. "I've been told I'm boring, but is it really that hard to stay awake during...this…?"

Granberg faltered as his flick caused cracks to radiate along her skin, like she was made of glass. As the mage backed up in surprise, Trinity's form began shimmering as it became practically transparent."

"W-What?" Granberg sputtered, as the group stood up in shock. "What's with her?"

"That's the main reason we came down here." Simon said solemnly. "The kid got hit with some curse that's threatening to erase her from the world. Apparently it was from some masked creep named Ellis."

To everyone's surprise, Granberg slammed the table with his fist. "Ellis! The name alones gives me chills. I had my fair share of scares during my time in the cult, but that...thing unsettles me like no other. They're a high-level cultist who serves a mage-knight general named Fergus...a man whom I'm quite friendly with despite him technically being my enemy. Fergus sometimes shows up around this area to do patrols, but his subordinate makes me uneasy. Nobody knows anything about them - not Fergus, nor even Adam himself. The only thing that's known about them are the inhuman things they do to the enemies they capture. Amongst that group...Ellis is a monster like no other."

"Uh, we kind of figured that out." Olivia said shakily. "So, in order to stop this curse, we decided to come down here to find a cure. Our idea was to knock Ellis' teeth in and hope it worked, but…"

Terry slowly took out Trinity's core crystal. Nearly the entire gem was now tainted with black cracks, the darkness suffocating the faint glow it usually possessed.

Suddenly, Trinity's eyes snapped open.

"Trinity?" Terry asked urgently. "Are you alright? Say something!"

"Terry...Terry…" Trinity muttered deliriously. "It's...so cold…"

Terry reached out to feel her forehead, only for his hand to pass straight through her. "T-Trinity?"

"Help me...sinking...sinking...dark...scared...don't...wanna...die..."

"Oh no." Jerry muttered.

"Trinity! No, don't die on us just yet!" Olivia practically screamed.

Simon grit his teeth. "No! Were we too late?"

Benjamin sighed. "Terry…"

Terry wanted desperately to do something to help her, or at least comfort her. But even as he reached for a nearby blanket, the cloth just phased through her. As he realized what was about to happen, an unfamiliar sensation shot through him - a sensation he hadn't felt in years.

The feeling of a tear rolling down his face.

_"I...I'm so sorry, Trinity. Please...just stay...just a bit longer…"_

For years, Terry had been nurturing an armored heart that felt nothing - no companionship, no pain, only the things needed to live an independent life. But for the first time ever since losing his parents, something had driven a crack into that armor. And just as he had realized how good companionship felt...that something was about to vanish, and that armored heart of his was about to shatter.

As Terry silently cried over Trinity's fading form, the others either started crying themselves or just lowered their heads. Even Terry's closest friends - even Terry's own _brother_ had never seen his emotions so exposed.

Granberg grit his teeth. From what Terry had recounted, that spirit had basically become his adoptive child. And over the many years of his life, the old mage had seen the sorrow of those who had just lost their children. He had heard about the grieving of countless parents as their children passed away before their eyes. Now that he was actually standing before the scenario, Granberg would not stand for it.

"Step aside."

The group looked at him. The old man's eyes were filled with a stern determination. "Young man, give me that crystal."

Terry hastily handed it to him. "D-Do you know a way to save her? If you do...I'm begging you, please dispel this curse! I...I don't want Trinity to die…"

Benjamin flinched. From his memory, the last time Terry had sounded so desperate was in the recording of the aftermath of their parents' kidnapping.

Granberg's eyes glowed a faint golden color as he glared intensely at the crystal. "By the gods....as terrible as they are, Ellis really is a magical genius. This curse is unlike anything I've ever seen. I don't think I can erase it...but I can try and slow it down."

Grabbing his staff, Granberg lightly tapped the crystal. Green light began pulsating from the ornate staff and flowing into the crystal. As Granberg began to sweat from concentration, he saw the group's looks of confusion and shook his head. "Hey, this is harder than it looks. If I had to come up with a comparison, it's like this crystal is wrapped in hundreds of locks, and I have to undo them one at a time."

As Terry watched anxiously, the dark corruption around Trinity's crystal slowly faded away, strand by strand, until there were only a few small cracks left behind. As Trinity's body slowly regained its opacity, her eyes fluttered open again. "T-Terry?"

"Trinity, I'm here for you. Are you okay?"

Trinity looked around. "I thought...I was going to disappear."

"Well, Granberg saved you." Terry told her, relief spreading over his face. Looking at the old mage, he bowed his head. "Granberg...I cannot express the extent of my gratitude to you."

"Hey, a simple "thank you" would have been enough."

Trinity leapt at him, tackling him with a hug. "Thank you so much! You saved me...I don't know how I could possibly repay you!"

"Hey, you can start by getting off of me." Granberg said irritably, although he couldn't conceal the smile on his face. "I can be blunt, but I'm not about to let a child die in front of me. Especially when that child could hold the key to saving the world."

Trinity let go of Granberg and looked at Terry, whose expression could only be described as tearful happiness. "Terry...are you crying?"

"What? N-No." Terry muttered, drying his eyes. "But you had me so worried. If you had any idea how sick you looked…well, I'm so glad to see you back to your normal self."

Trinity smiled, although tears were starting to spring to her eyes as well. "There's nothing wrong with tears. I cry a lot...so there's no reason why you can't."

"She's right, you know." Benjamin told his younger brother. "She may be a kid, but everyone has a right to express how they feel."

"...But you're right. I felt so horrible…" Trinity muttered. "I felt like I was actually going to die. And I...I didn't want to say goodbye yet. Terry...after all you did to care for me while the curse ate away at me...I didn't want to make you sad by leaving you like that. I wanted to stay for longer...so I could keep repaying your kindness."

Those words pierced straight through Terry's armored shell. Barely holding back tears of joy, he just smiled as Trinity tackled him with a flying hug. "Trinity...it's great to have you back."

Trinity laughed happily as tears flowed down her cheeks. "It's good to be back!"

Despite smiling at the touching scene, Granberg cleared his throat. "Sorry to rain on your parade, but I didn't cure the curse. It's far too complex, even for a supremely talented wizard like myself. All I did was...reset it and stunt its growth, in a way. So, child of magic, your days _are_ still limited. I do think that the easiest way to get rid of it would be to find Ellis and make them remove it."

"Uh, but how do we do that?" Olivia asked. "Ellis keeps avoiding us, and I'm certain they're doing it on purpose. If we can't find them soon enough, the same thing will repeat."

To her surprise, Granberg let out a hearty laugh. "I have an idea."

Waving his hand in the air, a piece of parchment and a quill flew to his side. Magically levitating his writing implement, he hastily wrote up a letter."

_To Fergus,_

_Your next scheduled patrol is in about a week, right? In that case, I'd like to request that you bring Ellis with you as well. There is a somewhat urgent matter that I would like to discuss with them._

_Yours truly,_

_Granberg_

"And he's actually going to believe that?" Jerry asked incredulously.

Granberg laughed again. "Us now being semi-enemies aside, me and Fergus go way back! Besides, it's not like it specifically concerns _him_ \-  he won't mind. He's one of the better people in the cult - he truly fights to bring humanity to justice for forsaking Archon, rather than sheer misanthropy or a personal grudge. Of course, that doesn't mean he won't try to kill you on the spot if he sees you. If you see him, it's best to just try and defeat him."

A murderous glint surfaced in Terry's eyes. "Sounds about right."

"So, in the week before that, I'd actually like you to try something." Granberg said, his golden eyes shining. "I've always been curious...how well would a dweller from the surface be able to handle using magic?"

The group put two and two together.

"Wait." Terry asked. "You want to _teach us magic?"_

Granberg nodded. "Exactly! In theory, although it'd be weaker, it's perfectly plausible for surface humans to wield magic. It would be wonderful research for me! Also, I personally recommend it. If you really plan on facing the rest of the underground world, as well as the Cult, you can't just rely on surface technology."

"Hmm…" Benjamin mused. "You're right. Learning magic would give us an edge down here. Takes one to beat one, after all."

"It'd make us way stronger!" Simon said excitedly. "Heroes have to be strong, after all!"

Olivia and Jerry just nodded.

"Well...I suppose it's the least we can do after what you've done for us." Terry told Granberg. "I guess we'll stick around and see what you have to teach us!"

Granberg laughed. "Oh, that's wonderful. Thank you all. However, I'm not so unkind as to start today. Please, make yourself at home here and get a rest. I'll try to get started with haste - we don't have much time, after all."

Terry nodded. "Alright."

 

_A couple hours later…_

Terry sat idly at the table, reading the book that Granberg had given them. Before he taught them about how to use magic, Granberg had given them a number of his notes in case they wanted to read them ahead of time. They had accepted this opportunity gladly - and so, they now sat around reading while the projection of the sky above them slowly turned to nighttime.

Well, more specifically, the four youth were sitting there reading. They had gone for dinner at one of the restaurant-like buildings in the camp, where they had been awed at how good the food of the underground was - especially Trinity, who had practically burst into flame after merely smelling her meal. However, after dinner, Granberg had surprisingly invited Simon to go fetch a drink at what amounted to a _bar_ \- evidently the enthusiastic cop had made an impression on him during their dinner. Benjamin had decided to stay and make sure they didn't do anything stupid, and as a _responsible_ adult, he had insisted that the others return home.

"Hey, that sounds fun!" Trinity had exclaimed. "Can I come?"

Granberg had shaken his head. "You're not of legal drinking age yet, so no."

"Hey, to be fair, I'm technically-"

"Well functionally, you should still be in elementary school. So no."

Trinity had puffed up her cheeks and prepared to go on a spiel, but Terry had slowly led her away before she could make things more complicated.

Now, the four of them were seated around the table, lost in Granberg's pile of notes. Well, at least three of them were. Trinity had nodded off five minutes ago, and was now snoring peacefully, occasionally drooling on the table as she slept. After finding out that it seemed to be comfortable for the spirit, Olivia was repeatedly patting her head. The drowsy Trinity would occasionally giggle softly at this sensation.

"Hey, when do you think you should stop that?" Jerry asked her.

Olivia shrugged. "Well, she seems to like it. It feels nice, too. Her hair is really soft, but it doesn't really feel like hair - probably because...well, it isn't. It's just solid magic."

Terry just gave her a look. "Eh, I think it's fine as long as she doesn't object. Still, maybe stop after a bit...but really, she kind of deserves it. She's had it rough recently."

Olivia nodded. "Alright. I'll give it a rest after a bit."

Trinity laughed quietly in her sleep. "Ha...haha…"

"She seems to be having a good dream." Jerry remarked.

Olivia smiled. "Maybe headpats are just that good."

Terry snorted, and Jerry just rolled his eyes.

A couple minutes later, Jerry found something of interest in the book. "Huh. It's just as I thought. Surface humans by themselves don't possess any magic, which is kind of obvious."

Terry frowned. "Wait, then how do we even use magic?"

"However, according to these notes, their bodies can still channel magical energy. Which means that if we can get the right equipment, we could get the equipment to do most of the work for us - and we could still use magic."

"That's why Granberg had asked us to create weapon designs - so that he could make weapons to help us with that task." Olivia said, waving a sheet in the air. "I had been collecting weapon designs for all six of us. I asked you guys about them, and drew out what you replied with. See here?"

Terry and Jerry leaned over the paper as Olivia laid it out on the table. Roughly sketched on the parchment were a series of weapons - a sword and shield, a bow, a staff, a mace, and what looked like a blaster.

"You sure Granberg can make all of these quick enough?" Jerry asked uncertainly.

"Sure he can!" Olivia assured him. "The man's studied magic and magical weapons for pretty much all his life, after all!"

As if on cue, the front door to the treehouse flew open. Groaning in frustration, Benjamin slowly hauled the limp bodies of his companions into the house.

"Uh...what happened?" Terry asked as Trinity woke up from the sudden noise.

"Ha...haha...that was great." Granberg mumbled deliriously. "That's...easily my victory, eh Simon? Such a wonderful time…"

Simon smiled awkwardly. "Yeah...I'm sure it's fine...this always happens to heroes in stories. I'm sure that just means...that we're extra heroic...yeah?"

"They're...drunk?" Olivia asked, as if unable to believe her eyes.

"These two dimwits got into a drinking contest." Benjamin said gruffly, although an amused smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. "The stuff down here seems different from surface alcohol, because Simon dropped almost immediately. Turns out the old man is quite the lightweight despite being more used to it, so it didn't take him long either. I had to drag 'em out of the bar while the patrons started a brawl. Good lord, couldn't the underground dwellers be a little less rowdy?"

As Trinity stared at the drunken pair curiously, Terry put a hand on her shoulder. "See, Trinity? This is why we didn't want you going to the bar."

Trinity giggled a bit. "Okay, I kind of see why. But speaking of drinks, you've made me kind of want to try one from the underground. Hey, Granberg, do you have any drinks?"

"Er...in the kitchen...bottom shelf of the fridge lookin thing to your right…"

"Thank you!" the spirit chirped as she waltzed into the kitchen.

Jerry sighed. "They will be ready to start training tomorrow, right?"

Benjamin shrugged. "Eh, I've dealt with this kind of stuff before. Nothing some verbal encouragement won't solve. Besides, the old man is probably used to this - I'm sure he'll be back on his feet in no time."

Terry was about to say something, but Trinity stumbled out of the kitchen. "...Mister Granberg? You've got some interesting tasting juice down here...do apples even grow underground? How'd...you get them? Ehehehe..."

As everyone in the room stared at her in shock, Trinity staggered over to a chair and sat down at the table. She raised a hand and opened her mouth as if to speak...then fell face-first into the table, out cold.

Benjamin snorted. "Oh dear. Another one bites the dust."

Terry facepalmed. _God damn it._

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a lot of stuff for these underground creature designs, and I'm hoping I'll have more opportunities to elaborate on them. I played a lot of _Subnautica_ while planning these creatures, in case the Ghast's existence didn't make that obvious.


	9. Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "AND THIS...IS TO GO...EVEN...FURTHER...BEYOND...AAAAAAAAHHHH!"
> 
>  
> 
> \- Me during March Break, probably

_A day later, in an abandoned city shrouded by darkness…_

Candles flickered faintly in the dimly-lit room, filling the space with the tell-tale scent of fire. In the corner of the room, a golden-cloaked woman leaned against a wall, idly tapping her foot. The candlelight reflected off of her whitish-silver hair and gold eyes, giving them a flickering radiance.

The door slowly creaked open, and the woman looked up. Standing in the doorway was a young man wearing a blue cloak. His hair was the same shade of whitish-silver as the woman, but his eyes were a piercing shade of light blue. Despite looking like he couldn't have been twenty, his expression was as stone-cold as the magic golems he had just worked to create.

"Greetings, Celeste." the boy said flatly. "I have finished the duties requested of me. The experimental golems were a partial success. Approximately half of them failed to function, yet the other half works fine."

"Good to know, Bjorn." Celeste replied. "Really though, you don't have to be this formal. I'm your sister, after all."

Bjorn nodded. "Yet you are also my superior. Formality should be expected."

Celeste shook her head. "...If you say so, little brother. Now, all that we have to do is wait. Adam should be here any moment-"

The door slammed open again. Panting in the doorway, a tall red-robed figure stormed into the room. Unlike the other two people in the room, their hood was longer than usual - concealing the figure's face. However, from under the hood, a pair of crimson eyes blazed with anger nonetheless.

"Hello, Adam." Celeste greeted the newcomer. "How was your day?"

She flinched when Adam's eyes flashed with red light as he whipped around to face her. "My...day? Do...you want to know how my day was like?"

A slightly perturbed Celeste nodded. "If it isn't too much, sir."

Adam slammed a nearby table. "Oh, I'll have you know my day was _wonderful_ . Wonderful, I tell you! EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF THE PROJECTS I WAS OVERSEEING. _Failed._ Either ceased to function, or just straight up destroyed itself. Unbelievable. We've failed to produce anything of meaning for the last few months. Is this...all we're capable of?"

As the two other people in the room stared at him, his eyes lit up with a murderous red glare. "No. No NO NO! It's NOT!"

"Sir, please." Celeste offered. "It can't be as bad as it looks."

"Oh, it isn't, is it?" Adam growled. "All of the failures are minor setbacks - except for one, which is the project to create the pure-magic entity we need to awaken our lord and crush the surface world. Yet every time we attempt to create one, it either goes wild or just dissolves on the spot. I'm already getting tired of disposing of those wretched souls that we end up creating - and we're running out of Drakins to sacrifice. Those beasts don't grow on trees!"

Bjorn raised a hand. "If I may, couldn't you use something besides Drakins?"

"Are you a fool?" Adam asked incredulously. "The prophecy specifically requires a _sentient_ entity. Getting surface dwellers to use as test subjects is hard to do unnoticed, and I'm not about to use our own kind unless results become promising enough. Drakins already have a high degree of sentience, so they're the next best option."

Bjorn nodded. "I apologize for asking, sir."

"But why?" Adam hissed, grinding his teeth. "Why won't it work? We've consulted nearly every scroll we have, and our spirits still fail to manifest. Meanwhile, according to our spies, that wretched bunch of scientists up there is making far better progress than us. How are those surface dwellers doing a better job than we are? _I demand an explanation!"_

Bjorn raised a hand again. "To be fair, they're combining magic and technology. Perhaps if we used some of the surface's resources…"

In a flash, Adam turned around and pointed at Bjorn accusingly, fingertips glowing with white-hot flame. "WHAT did you say? I would _never_ stoop to such a level, and as long as I live, neither will this Cult! I am _appalled_ that you would even suggest that, boy!"

Despite the heat from Adam's hand threatening to set his cloak on fire, Bjorn just nodded apologetically. "I apologize for asking. Please forgive me."

Adam just nodded and inhaled sharply, his hand cooling down again. "Damn that Vivid Clarity. I bet that the cultists that they capture are leaking far too much of our information to them. Yes...that's it. Damn cowards...the humans that we capture almost never give up their secrets, even when faced with torture and death. Why must our own brethren be so weak as to give up our secrets in turn?"

"Please, sir, give them some credit. They're doing their best." Celeste said.

Both of Adam's hands became wreathed in flame. "Well, if they're the ones causing those surface dwellers to pull ahead of us in this race, I won't forgive them. The majority of our captured members don't return...perhaps they were smart enough to realize that if I found out that they had leaked our information, I would not hesitate to _destroy_ them on the spot. The surface deserves our wrath...but there's no mercy to be had for traitors, either."

"Adam, calm down." Celeste pleaded. "There's no need to be so angry!"

"Calm down? You want me to CALM DOWN?" Adam roared, fire licking at the earth around him. "The total destruction of the human world - our promised revenge - is within sight, yet it hovers just barely out of our reach. Justice is so tantalizingly close...yet as it stands, we have _no hope_ of attaining it unless these spirits start working!"

"Adam, I promise that the solution will come eventually-"

" _Eventually_ is not good enough!" Adam spat bitterly. "Our justice is long overdue, thanks to human development and that wretched sealing spell. The longer we wait, the more powerful those damned humans get, and I fear that they'll eventually devise a way to stop us before we succeed in our quest. I don't want _eventually!_ I want _soon_ \- I want _now!"_

Adam blinked, and he seemed to realize that a large portion of the room was smoldering and sizzling. Taking a deep breath, he willed his flames to subside.

"Are...are you okay, sir?" Celeste asked uncertainly.

Adam loosened up. "My...apologies. It seems that I let my emotions get the best of me. The meeting is adjourned. Nothing was accomplished here, and that was mostly my fault. Bjorn, go and oversee the new recruits' training. Celeste, you may follow if you wish."

Both of the other mages nodded. "Yes, sir."

As the pair left, Adam sighed. During that moment, where he was teetering on the border of lucidity and madness, he had felt...something. A kind of existential dread, like his mind was in utter confusion about what he was doing.

Then he shook his head as memories flowed into him again. Revenge...that was his goal. Yes. All that mattered was destroying the surface world, and getting revenge for how his ancestors had been wronged.

Just as he snapped back to reality, the door opened again. A tall figure marched into the room, their pitch-black plate armor causing their footsteps to echo loudly. A metal mask sporting four diagonally-slanted, glowing purple eyes obscured their face.

"Fergus. Here to submit your patrol report, am I right?"

The figure's mask split down the middle and slid apart, revealing short black hair and a pair of intelligent purple eyes. "Right as usual, boss."

He pulled out a sheet of parchment and handed it to Adam. "Nothing out of the ordinary spotted. Patrols are getting pretty boring. I wish more soldiers would come down here. At least then I would have some work to do."

Adam nodded. "You haven't checked in with your assistant in some time. I expect you to do that and procure another report within the week."

Fergus nodded. "Ellis? Yeah, I'll get to it. Also...I received a letter from Granberg. He wishes to talk to Ellis, and requested that I meet him around his place. Is that okay?"

"Oh, that old man?" Adam mused. "No harm in that. So long as he doesn't oppose us, he can do whatever he wants."

Fergus nodded, his mask coming back together. "Understood. I'll await that day."

With that, the masked knight pivoted on the spot and walked out of the room.

 

As Bjorn and Celeste walked down the hallway, Celeste had a thought. "Hey, Bjorn?"

"...What is it, sister?"

"...You barely flinched when Adam was having one of his outbursts. That was kind of unsettling for me...but you didn't even react."

Bjorn frowned. "Why would I need to? It doesn't concern me."

Celeste sighed. "His mental state seems to be getting worse with every passing day. When did this start? I still miss back when we were younger...he was such a wonderful friend. We studied together, helped each other, played with each other...but one day, he just...changed. And I don't know why."

"I was far too young at that time, so I wouldn't know."

Celeste put her face in her hands. "But anyways...even if you only know him as our leader, weren't you scared during that?"

Bjorn shook his head. "No. Again, it doesn't concern me."

Celeste clicked her tongue. "Sealing your emotions away isn't always the best idea, little brother. To be honest, I'm a bit worried about you - all you do nowadays is take orders. You aren't a robot - you have your own mind!"

Bjorn thought about that. "I'm not sure what you mean. My body - and the bodies of every cultist - are naught but weapons that the cult wields in search of their goal. Weapons don't think...they act."

The golden-haired woman sighed. "Well, _I_ wasn't the one teaching you those things. Was it my fault for joining the cult early? Did I abandon you, and fail to teach you about the values of individual thinking?"

Bjorn shook his head. "I assure you that nobody is to blame. But your concern is noted."

As they walked, Fergus passed by them. "Hey, you two. Are you also going to the nearby training arena?"

Bjorn and Celeste waved and nodded.

As the three of them walked, Celeste decided to ask a risky question.

"Hey, you two? Did you...ever question whether our end goal was right or not?"

Fergus tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Celeste seemed to be deep in thought. "We fight for justice - to bring retribution to the surface world. But every time Adam goes on one of his furious rants...I find myself questioning that purpose. Is this the right path to take? Is there a better option?"

Fergus shrugged. "Better option? Maybe. Justified? You bet. The humans of the surface were blessed by Archon - a _celestial god_ \- yet they took his gifts and shunned him. They made him vanish from the world - and if it weren't for that blessed child, he would have been gone for good. To make such a mighty being perform such an unsightly action...I can't forgive them. Archon _deserves_ justice. And if we have to be the ones to exact it for him, I'm perfectly willing to do that."

Bjorn had a simpler answer. "Adam said it's right. I believe Adam. He's our leader."

Celeste sighed. "You raise valid points. What the surface did was unforgivable. And Archon deserved much better than what he got. Yet...sometimes I still question myself."

Fergus shrugged again. "No harm in questioning the boss' orders. Not like you're disobeying them or anything."

"He raises a fair point." Bjorn added.

Having descended into a deep brainstorming session, Celeste shut up. The remainder of their journey was performed in silence.

 

_Meanwhile, at the Idyll…_

The team gawked as Granberg presented his creations. "Well, here they are! After suffering for an entire morning along with my students, we managed to put these things together quickly. Good thing I made base designs for these kinds of weapons beforehand!"

Olivia whistled. "This is incredible! Thanks for doing this for us!"

Simon was ecstatic. "Your craftsmanship is wonderful! They look just like the sketches we commissioned the night before!"

Granberg patted the large case he was keeping the weapons in, in a similar fashion to a rich man patting his new car. "I modeled them off of your sketches, pre-existing designs, and some designs I recorded on surface weapons. They're made of an ultralight yet strong metal alloy containing magic-conducting metal - a material said to have been created by Archon himself. I've optimized them for user-friendliness, which mostly just means I put buttons for activation and such. Since you people have no magic of your own, I devised another power source for these bad boys. The majority of the glowing crystals you see around the place are akin to crystallized magic - harvesting them should essentially allow you to use them as batteries. Stealing crystals off of Prismars is a riskier but nonetheless valid solution."

Terry took his weapon of choice - a long-ish broadsword and a shield. The sword had a crystalline hatch in the crossguard, where a glowing crystal was nestled. The shield had a similar slot in the center. "These are...really light."

Jerry lifted up his new bow experimentally. "You're right."

Olivia tried twirling her two-pronged staff, and was surprised when she didn't fail miserably. "Wow!"

Simon pointed his bulky-looking blaster around, striking poses like he was the main character of a cop show. "This is beyond cool!"

Benjamin had a more subdued reaction, simply laughing as he examined the mace in his hands. "This material really is something."

Granberg laughed heartily. "Tell me about it! Even after merging it with some other metals to bolster its strength, it's remarkable! There's a dubious legend about how this metal was actually made from parts of Archon's body, but I don't know about that. An ancient scroll _does_ say that he bestowed this material onto numerous other planets as well - if it's the same stuff, then maybe that legend _is_ true."

"Sweet!" Simon said enthusiastically. "So, when do we start using these and fighting evildoers?"

One swift staff strike to the head later, and Simon regretted his question. Granberg just smiled at him. "That's not a good mentality to have."

"Sorry...sir."

Benjamin chuckled. Considering that Simon was the oldest one here besides the old man, he acted remarkably young for his age. He seemed like the kind of soldier who'd get kicked out of the army pretty quickly.

"You six are in for a hell of a week." Granberg said simply. "It's basically impossible to master magic in such a short time, but it's surprisingly easy to pick it up. I'm going to be teaching you how to wield magic, and use it in tandem with these weapons. Also, what I said before is a partial lie - this won't be a cakewalk, but if you do well, this shouldn't be a nightmare. I won't go easy on you guys."

"If we do well." Terry remarked. "Fantastic advice."

Benjamin smiled. "You sound like me when I trained these kids."

"You trained them already? Good! That saves me a bit of time." Granberg exclaimed. "You might even be able to help me out a bit!"

Jerry shuddered. "And I thought one angry drill sergeant was enough."

Benjamin laughed.

Trinity raised a hand. "I have my own weapon, and I can kind of use magic already. So, do I not have to do this training thing-"

_Crack!_

Granberg lowered his staff as Trinity whimpered in pain, hands on her forehead. "Nope. You're going to be learning how to exploit the magic in your body as well. You may consider yourself strong, but know that you could be much stronger. No laziness!"

"O-Okay."

Terry sighed. _We're in for a long ride._

 

Over the course of the next week, the group quickly found out that Granberg hadn't been lying. The training they underwent was just as hard as Benjamin's, if not harder. It was a bit less physically strenuous, but they were still learning about something that they had literally zero prior knowledge about.

Surprisingly, Granberg had managed to explain the basics of magic fairly easily. Much to their shock, Granberg had explained that magic was, for the most part, linked directly to the mind. As such, it could follow its user's imagination remarkably well.

"Magic is a power that binds to its user's consciousness, reads it, and then attempts to bring it to life. To put it simply, it's a power that tries to make your imagination reality." Granberg had explained. "It sounds disgustingly easy when I put it this way, but all you really have to do about it is think about what you want to do - and have utter confidence that it will happen. The rest is just practice, practice, and more practice so that your body gets used to it. As such, most mages specialize into one specific type of magic - trying to use many at once is incredibly taxing, and quite frankly I don't even know if it's possible to do that effectively."

Taking these directions to heart, the group followed what Granberg told them - and surprisingly, it was just as easy as he said it was. Sure, it seemed pretty unwieldy, but the fact that they had already managed to channel magic was a shock to them. Then again, they weren't actually wielding the magic - all of their power came straight from their weapons. They were just the medium in which the power travelled through.

Every day, the six of them practiced unceasingly. Already having exhausted many of their weapons' "batteries", they would have been worried if Granberg had not shown them how many spare crystals he had. Trinity, who was actually made of magic, had to undergo specialized training to wield her powers - although she was already more used to it. Granberg had specifically recommended that they focus on a specific type of magic that was easier to use - specifically, magic to strengthen the body, although he did encourage learning projectile attacks. He had reasoned that for new learners like them, it would likely be better to merely improve what their bodies already possessed, rather than attempt to give themselves things that they didn't originally have.

"It's simple, but it works." the old mage had told them. "And for a situation like this, you'd probably be better off without flashy powers that lack any real strength."

The group had looked a bit disappointed when they were told this - especially Simon - but Granberg had been adamant. "Heed my words. Even after learning how to use magic...even after learning how to wield your weapons...as newbie mages and as magic-less surface humans, you will _still_ be weaker than your foes. The Cultists of Archon, and even the _local wildlife_ will probably be able to overpower any of you in a head-on clash. Thus, it'd be best if you focused your magic on strengthening your latent strengths - if you're prepared to score victories purely based on the amount of square meters you can detonate at a time, you're not preparing for anything except failure. You're likely going to have to think your way through most of your obstacles - use that human ingenuity of yours to exploit every resource you have. This power is merely an aid - in the end, _you're_ the ones who have to solve your problems."

Benjamin had nodded. "Exploit every resource you have...I've heard that advice countless times in my career, but its importance never eludes me."

Trinity had raised a hand. "So you're saying that no matter what...our enemies will be stronger than us. But how exactly do we outsmart them like you said?"

"Child, what's worth mentioning is that power makes one complacent." Granberg had replied. "Many of the mages you'll fight will be supremely confident in their powers - possessing such power has made them less observant, less reliant on their own wit and more on brute strength. I don't have an exact answer for you, but I'm confident that many of the enemies you face will underestimate the cleverness of six surface humans. Milk this for all it's worth."

Simon nodded. "You have a point. I'm sure we'll remember that."

So, as they kept training, they made an attempt to stay humble - taking the first steps to sharpen their minds for their upcoming challenges. And soon, they began to show promising results.

However, no training was complete without some friendly competition.

 

_On the day before Ellis' scheduled arrival…_

The five humans and one spirit stood in a wide circle, held in place by cylindrical green force fields. Terry raised his shield and put a hand on his sword hilt as he surveyed his position relative to his opponents.

His mind turned into a combat computer. _Trinity's on the opposite side of the ring. She's liable to be a massive threat, so I'd be wise not to engage her - I'll bank on the fact that she's likely going to do something stupid. Simon and my brother are physically stronger than me, so a sneak attack would be best - no direct assaults. The most likely first targets for me are Jerry and Olivia - they're around my match in terms of raw strength, but I have the upper hand in close combat. They both use ranged weapons...now if I could only approach them…_

While Terry was processing this, Olivia was twirling her staff, while Jerry nervously gripped his bow in the force field beside her. Benjamin, being the seasoned veteran he was, had already formulated potential ways to exploit their terrain, as well as a strategy of systematic elimination. Simon was playfully pointing his heavy blaster around again, but the hardened look in his eyes made it obvious that his police training wasn't just for show. Trinity just got into a battle stance, ready to lunge at any moment.

Standing atop a tall rock, Granberg smiled as his students crowded around the domed arena he had created with his nature powers. The students had initially been a little unsettled by the presence of surface dwellers in their home, but had soon gotten over it. In particular, most of them were curious to see how well surface dwellers could handle magic.

"Alright, let me go over some rules, regulations, et cetera." Granberg shouted, although his voice contained a hint of boredom. "Leaving the arena is forbidden under pain of instant disqualification. Each of you has been given a magic barrier of equal strength - think of it like hit points in one of your video games. Once a contestant's shield runs out, they are out - however, feel free to add your own shielding on top of mine, although you may not repair this base shielding. Nobody is permitted to attack a disqualified contestant, and I _will_ directly intervene if I see this happening."

"U-Uh...was that last part really necessary?" Trinity stammered.

"Here, I don't think so. However, we _have_ had incidents in the past, so I'm staying safe." Granberg replied, glaring at his students.

The crowd shifted guiltily.

"So, anyways, just have fun, do your best, no death and dismemberment, all of that good stuff." Granberg mumbled. "No point in waiting any longer. _Begin!"_

And the force fields encasing the contestants vanished.

Trinity wasted no time. Raising her scythe, she hurled herself at the nearest opponent, which just so happened to be Benjamin. Surprised at the child's reckless move, he barely managed to block the weapon with the handle of his mace. As the impact flattened the surrounding grass, Benjamin twisted his weapon, driving Trinity's scythe into the ground, and swung at her while she tried to recover. Trinity ducked out of the way and let out a pulse of magic, forcing Benjamin away from her before he could strike again.

 _As an entity of magic, her powers should be stronger than ours._ Benjamin thought. _I should be wary._

In the meantime, Simon raised his blaster and unleashed several searing blasts of aquamarine light in their direction. Benjamin ducked and rolled for cover, while Trinity raised a shield and blocked them. Lunging at the cop, Trinity raised her scythe and swung several times, shredding the grass as Simon ducked from side to side. One of Trinity's strikes caught him in the chest, digging into his barrier.

On the other side of the arena, Jerry and Olivia hid behind trees, taking potshots at each other. Noticing that Jerry was focused on her, Olivia raised her staff and called down a barrage of energy bolts from above. Unfortunately for her, Jerry managed to block the energy storm with a shield, before firing off several magical arrows with his bow. Olivia took the first one, before blocking the rest with a shield of her own.

The girl was about to fire off another magic comet when she heard a cracking noise from behind her. Turning around, she yelped and ducked out of the way as a nearby tree buckled and fell over, nearly flattening her. As she caught her breath, the source of the tree's collapse lunged at her - Terry, his sword poised to strike.

Olivia charged her body with magic and leapt far backwards, attempting to put distance in between her and her sword-wielding opponent. However, Terry had anticipated this, and had done nearly the same thing. Olivia landed, only to see Terry hurtling towards her. In a panic, she pointed her pronged staff at him and fired a massive ray of light. In response, Terry raised his shield and projected a barrier, barely absorbing the brunt of the attack. Some of the crackling energy had seeped through his defenses and damaged his primary shield, but he had made it through the beam - and was now within striking distance of his foe.

Realizing that she couldn't use ranged magic at such a range, Olivia raised her staff and tried to engage Terry in melee combat - only to realize how bad of an idea that was. Handily blocking her blows with his shield, Terry charged his blade, causing its edge to glow with violet light. With a furious storm of slashes, he disarmed Olivia, took down her hastily-created barrier, and shredded her primary shield to ribbons.

There was a shrill whistle from Granberg. "Olivia has been eliminated!"

Olivia was a bit shaken, but accepted her defeat humbly. Terry shook her hand and sent her off. "You've always got to use the environment to your advantage. And next time, try not to get into a close-quarters fight with a dedicated melee fighter as a mage."

Just as Olivia left the scene, Terry barely blocked an incoming arrow from Jerry. As highlights on his bow began to glow orange, he nocked a fiery arrow, took aim, and shot. Terry managed to block the arrow with his shield, but the resulting fiery blast staggered him. Seizing the opportunity, Jerry unloaded a sporadic bombardment of smaller green arrows at his location. While Terry hit the ground and managed to avoid most of the shots, several struck him and further weakened his primary shield.

Jerry was about to fire again when he noticed a glint in the corner of his eye. Ducking behind a tree, he gasped as a magical flare soared past him, blasting a nearby bush into a smoldering heap. About thirty meters away, Simon was ducking in between trees, taking potshots at Jerry while he moved.

Jerry nocked and fired arrows at Simon, blasting the trees apart as the cop closed the distance between them. Distracted by his firing, Jerry didn't notice he was absorbing a number of the shots until he realized that his primary shield was halfway destroyed. As Simon raised his blaster to fire another shot, there was a click. Groaning, Simon ejected the used battery crystal and inserted another one, giving Jerry enough time to put some distance between him and his adversary.

Simon reloaded his weapon and was about to open fire again, only to see a glint of silver-blue register in his peripheral vision. Flinching in alarm, he ducked as Trinity's scythe cut through the space where his head had been half a second before. The spiritual child twirled her weapon, a grin plastered on her face.

"Hey, don't just attack me and run away like that!" Benjamin yelled, running towards them with his mace raised. "Get back here, you cheeky little bugger!"

Realizing that he was in a bad spot, Simon holstered his weapon, willed it to channel its power through his body, and raised his fists. As Trinity swung downwards, the cop ducked to the side and grabbed Trinity's arms, forcing her scythe into the ground. Trinity gasped in surprise as Simon raised a fist and prepared to strike. _She hasn't really charged her body with magic yet, so she should be just as frail as a normal child. I've got her in a bad spot._

Trinity braced herself and took the magically-charged punch, which was powerful enough to send her near-weightless form hurtling several meters away. She skidded to a halt next to Terry, who was blocking arrows from Jerry. However, the moment she got up, she immediately lunged at Terry, who blocked her scythe with his shield. The spirit raised her weapon again, Terry plunged his sword into the ground and triggered an explosion, sending dust flying everywhere. Trinity coughed as her glowing eyes scanned the dusty area, eventually finding a target. Raising her scythe, she swung it, firing off a crescent of pale light that cut a path through the gloom. Terry, not expecting Trinity to catch on that fast, took the hit and went flying, his primary shield's integrity decreasing massively.

Immediately getting to his feet, Terry dodge Trinity's next magic blast and leapt at her, sword raised. Trinity blocked the strike with her scythe, before stepping back and whirling her weapon around. Terry ducked under the attack, swept his leg, and knocked Trinity onto her back. As he prepared to stab her and break her shield, a magical arrow barely missed him and forced him to duck behind a nearby boulder. Trinity quickly got to her feet and looked around for the source of the arrow, only to see Jerry standing nearby with his bow raised.

Jerry smiled and prepared to flush Terry out of hiding with another volley, only for Trinity to turn around and lunge at him. Leaping to the side in order to avoid her slash, he tumbled a few meters away and raised his bow. _I saved you, and you attack me? Oh, boy, you've made a mistake!_

At the same time, Terry leapt back into the fray, sword crackling and ready to strike. As Trinity turned around, Simon also ran up to her, blaster raised.

Trinity paled as she realized that she was being targeted by three people at once. "Uhh…"

The rest of the battle went by in a flash. Against her three opponents, Trinity lasted for a total of twenty seconds before her primary shield was ripped to shreds, disqualifying her. Immediately afterwards, the three of them had turned on each other, where Simon had disarmed and taken down Jerry, only to be ambushed and defeated by Terry right afterwards. However, Terry almost instantly lost the match afterwards - during the scuffle, Benjamin had snuck around and set up traps.

The crowd outside the arena erupted into thunderous applause as the six contestants shook hands. Granberg leapt down from his perch. "Well done, Benjamin! Excellent strategy on your part. However, all of you have grown so much stronger than you were on the first day of your training. I'm damn proud of all of you."

As his teammates praised him, Benjamin accepted it in stride. "Thanks, you guys. I've likely got more experience in combat like this, so I hope that I provided a good example for you. I would be damn disappointed in myself if I didn't."

"You were so clever!" Trinity gushed. "I didn't even realize that you were setting up all of those traps! It was like you had memorized the entire battlefield...which you probably did!"

Jerry laughed. "Didn't realize it? Weren't you already out at the time?"

Trinity puffed up her cheeks and pouted. "Hey! No need to rub it in!"

Terry just smiled. "Trinity, your skill with your magic - and that scythe - is improving. However, one thing you could do better next time is carefully pick your targets. You were just attacking everyone you saw - and eventually, you bit off more than you could chew, and drew the aggro of three enemies at once. For example, if you hadn't attacked Jerry there, he might have ignored you - and you could have been able to get away and think about your next move. You got that?"

Trinity nodded. "I understand. Thanks for the tip!"

Olivia smiled. "We've all still got a lot to learn. But we don't have enough time for that. Ellis comes tomorrow, and it's up to us to take them out and save Trinity."

"Well said." Granberg told her. "Well, if I were you, I'd get some rest and enjoy the last day you have here. You've got an arduous task ahead of you tomorrow."

The group nodded.

 

_The next morning…_

Granberg inspected the six delvers, making sure that their equipment was prepared. They had their weapons, of course, along with things like replenished rations and the like. Granberg had also supplied them with what amounted to healing potions - although he had revealed that they were just arbitrary liquids imbued with healing magic, in this case sugared water. They had retained the guns and bulletproof light armor that they had originally used, just in case.

With a satisfied look on his face, he stood up. "So...are you ready?"

Terry nodded. "To be honest, I'm still pretty nervous. But I feel ready."

"It's alright to feel nervous, brother." Benjamin told him simply. "What we're doing is totally unfamiliar and incredibly dangerous. I'd be more surprised if you _weren't_ nervous."

The old mage nodded. "Your brother is right, boy. You have every right to be nervous. However, you'll have to swallow your fear and do what you need to do. Ellis arrives in about fifteen minutes, and they're likely bringing Fergus and a small force with them. Now get out of here, save that spirit, and make me proud."

All of them bowed to Granberg. "Thank you for everything!"

As they turned to leave, Granberg stopped them. "Wait. If it isn't too much, can I ask you something?"

Simon turned back. "Alright. What is it?"

Granberg sighed. "This is more of a warning than anything. In case you encounter Adam...don't try to reason for him. I'm almost certain that his mind is completely gone at this point, the poor soul. If you ever get a chance, don't hesitate - attack him straight away, and kill him if possible. That'll end the curse of Absolute Authority, possibly free the Cult from its influence, and free Adam himself."

Terry nodded, although Granberg had noticed that his fists were clenched. "I understand. Don't worry, Granberg. I was planning on doing that anyways."

And with that, the six of them set off.

Granberg sighed. _I hope you'll be able to save Trinity...but most of all, I hope you go on and defeat the Cult...go on to save both worlds._

 

_Fifteen minutes later…_

Terry and Trinity hid in a tree as they scanned the area. Inside two nearby bushes, their comrades were hidden as well, their weapons at the ready.

The boy glanced at his companion. It was evident that the curse had started to take effect again, but Granberg really _had_ slowed it down. It had been a week since she had been saved by the old mage, but the only symptom she was showing was mild fatigue.

He gave her a silent look. _You good?_

Trinity nodded.

In the bush beneath them, Benjamin grit his teeth as his ears caught the sound they were waiting for. The tell-tale hissing of the masked mage Ellis breathing through their mask. Terry flinched as the dark figure strode beneath their hiding spot, eyes burning with a sickly green glow. Stopping about ten meters away, Ellis stood at attention as a small team of mages wearing plate armor marched up to them, led by another dark-armored figure.

 _Those must be the cultist mage-knights that Granberg mentioned._ Terry thought. _Then, that means that the person in the middle…_

All of the soldiers stood at attention around the center figure, who was evidently their leader. A voice, muffled by the four-eyed mask they wore, seeped out of their pitch-black armor. "Ellis. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Ellis did nothing but salute to the man.

 _Yeah, that has to be him._ Jerry thought. _Ellis' superior, Fergus._

"So, let's get down to business." Fergus said. "Have you seen anything out of the ordinary on your patrols?"

Ellis shook their head.

"Have you done anything...extraordinary since my last checkup?"

Ellis shook their head again.

"...Well, if things have been that normal, then how has your life been?"

Ellis let out a muffled chuckle and gave him a thumbs-up.

Fergus sighed. "Good grief. If I knew that things would have been so... _boring,_ I would have just skipped out on this meeting. No idea why Granberg wanted me to hold it here of all places. Maybe I should visit him. That old man spends all of his time holed up in that school of his...it's been a while since we had a meal together."

Ellis just shrugged, only to flinch. Staring around, his gaze passed over the group's hiding spots, causing the six of them to hold their breath. Then, in a hesitant motion, Ellis reached for their sword.

Terry shot his teammates a look. _Do it now!_

In a sudden movement, Benjamin leapt out of the bushes. Simon, Olivia, and Jerry all raised their weapons and fired, while Terry and Trinity dropped out of the tree with their weapons poised to strike.

Ellis barely had enough time to register the movement as Benjamin's mace slammed into their head, sending them reeling. As the three following magical projectiles soared towards him, Ellis hastily projected a circular barrier to block the shots. However, this left them wide open to the last attackers - Trinity drove her scythe into Ellis' chestplate, while Terry went for the kill and slammed Ellis in the face with his shield, before going for their neck using his blade. All of the attacks struck true, but Ellis managed to shake them off before Terry could drive the blade through their armored torso. As the party landed and entered ready positions, Ellis stumbled to their feet a few meters away. Noticing that the gash on their mask was still there, Terry internally smiled a bit.

Meanwhile, the mage-knights were flabbergasted at what had just transpired. Fergus shook his head as if to convince himself that this was real, before chuckling. "Ellis, I didn't know you made so many friends! And who might you be?"

"You don't really need to know our names." Terry growled. "We're not here for you. All we want is the head of that fiend standing beside you."

Fergus turned towards his subordinate. "Ellis...this would qualify as out of the ordinary. And you didn't tell me about this."

Ellis just shook their head apologetically.

Fergus put a hand to his masked face before turning towards the newcomers. "I'm not going to just hand them over. They're my subordinate, and they're a valuable asset towards our cause...despite their admittedly _questionable_ tendencies. But judging from your weapons, I think you've already accounted for that."

The lights on his mask narrowed even further as he scrutinized his foes. "My, my...this is quite interesting. A group of surface humans, who have learned to wield magic. The old man had told me about that being possible, but I had doubted him...that guy really is something."

However, his eyes went wide in shock as he saw Trinity. "Wait, _hold on one minute!_ Is that a _spirit?"_

Trinity nodded. "In the flesh! Well...not really...I kind of don't have flesh."

Olivia shrugged. "The expression works nonetheless."

Fergus took a step back. "That's incredible! I always knew that those Vivid Clarity guys were pieces of work, but for them to actually create a spirit before us...that's something else. You see, Adam? This is what we could have done if you would _actually let us_ use technology in tandem with magic!"

"But sir," one of his soldiers said, "you already do."

"In secret!" Fergus yelled angrily. "I'd lay down my life for the boss, but I don't understand why he's so dead-set on avoiding technology. Any advantage we can get, I'm willing to take! Now, you six, I'm afraid you're more important than I imagined. You've gotten my attention, alright. Now I'm gonna have to nab that spirit myself."

To his surprise, Trinity broke into a coughing fit.

"Are you okay?" Terry asked her.

Trinity composed herself and smiled. "Yeah. Thanks for asking."

"Wait, hold on…" Fergus muttered, looking closely at the magic surrounding Trinity. The girl had a peculiar aura permeating her being.

 _I recognize that aura._ Fergus mused. _That's...that's Ellis'..._

Putting two and two together, his eyes blazed with fury as he turned towards Ellis and grabbed the shorter mage by their collar. "ELLIS!"

Ellis was too surprised to do anything.

"You utter _imbecile!"_ Fergus roared. "You didn't tell me any of this! You not only found a spirit, but you _laid a death curse on them?_ Are you insane? That spirit is the key to our goal - the key to getting justice for our lord! And I'm sorry if you thought otherwise, but we can't use this spirit if the poor girl has been _destroyed!_ I'll keep this a secret from Adam, don't worry - but you have almost jeopardized our chances at victory. As your superior, I am directly ordering you to relinquish the curse - _NOW!"_

As Fergus let go of his subordinate and slowed his breathing, Ellis was visibly shaken. Raising a hand and pointing at Trinity, he made a yanking motion. Immediately, a dark miasma seemed to get pulled out of Trinity's body, dispersing into the air.

"Well, that was easy." Jerry muttered in surprise.

Trinity blinked. "Am I...am I cured? I feel...better."

Terry took a look at her crystal, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw that the black streaks tainting the gem had completely vanished. "It seems so. Trinity, it's over. You're cured. Thanks for enduring this curse long enough for this to happen."

Trinity leapt towards Terry with her arms wide open. "No, thank all of you for going through this much effort to save me!"

Terry grabbed her forehead and held her back. "Hey. There's a time and place for that."

"Oh...s-sorry!"

Fergus calmed himself and stared at the humans. "How kind of you. However, I'm afraid this isn't over."

The six of them tensed.

The dark knight raised his hand. "Soldiers, you should be able to discern what I want to happen here. Figure out a way to capture that spirit - I forbid you to do any lasting harm to her. As for the rest of them...well, they have no use to us. Kill them."

Trinity dashed in front of her friends. "I won't let you do any of those things!"

The others raised their weapons. "Neither will we."

Fergus laughed, drawing what appeared to be a sword from his belt. Ellis' blade flared to life, crackling with green lightning. All of the other mage-knights drew all manner of weapons, all of them radiating with power.

The dark mage-knight pointed his blade at the party. "Wonderful! I've been bored without anything to fight. I hope you provide a challenge. Now, shall we begin?"

And so, the two parties steeled their nerves and charged, clashing like raging tides and beginning the first major battle of the party's adventure.

 

...Or that's what Fergus would have liked to happen.

In reality, Terry had lunged at him right after he had finished talking, taking him by surprise. Within those first seconds, the teen had succeeded in driving his sword into Fergus' shoulder. While a flickering layer of magic seemed to turn away the strike, Fergus grunted, violently repelled him with a pulse of force, and brandished his sword, its edge glowing with indigo light. "Oh, in a hurry now, aren't we?"

Terry growled and pointed his sword at the knight, his eyes burning with rage. "Damn cultists...I'll show you no mercy!"

Charging his body with magic, Terry leapt at him again. This time, Fergus blocked the strike with his own sword, giving Terry a good look at the weapon. The sword was double-edged, quite wide, and seemed pretty heavy - but what intrigued Terry was that its metal didn't seem uniform. The blade had numerous V-shaped grooves along its surface, as if the weapon were segmented.

_That thing has got to have a secret of some sort…_

Fergus pulled away and slashed again. Terry blocked it with his shield, but his knees nearly crumpled from the force. It was clear that with his heavy armor and giant sword, Fergus had a lot of weight behind his strikes. It would be unwise to take direct hits from him.

As Fergus narrowed his eye-lights and pushed harder, Terry pulled out of the blade lock and leapt backwards. Swinging his sword, he projected a glowing sword beam at the dark knight. In response, Fergus slashed through it with his sword, before raising it and firing off a barrage of indigo arrowheads. Terry avoided them, but he flinched as he heard a mechanical clicking noise from Fergus' weapon. To his surprise, the segments of the weapon detached and came apart, revealing that they were actually blades connected to a whip-like chain. Fergus raised his arm and swung, the whip hurtling towards Terry. He barely blocked the whip's spear-headed tip, only for Fergus to expertly flick his wrist and send the whip sweeping at his leg. He managed to block the strike, but the force still bowled him over.

Fergus raised his arm again, repeatedly striking the downed Terry with his bladed whip. Terry blocked each of the strikes with his shield, but he knew he couldn't keep it up forever. _Damn. I've got to find a way to get up…_

That way came in the form of Trinity, who lunged at Fergus and intercepted his whip with her scythe. As the mage-knight attempted to recall his whip, Trinity knocked it off course before attacking again. Fergus managed to block the strikes with barriers from his hands, which bought him enough time to put some distance between him and the angry scythe-ghost harassing him.

As Terry jumped to his feet, Trinity brandished her scythe. "Don't hurt him!"

Fergus recalled his whip, the bladed segments clicking together to form their sword configuration again. "Protective, aren't you? A scythe...that's an interesting choice for a weapon, kid. I've only ever seen one other person use one before."

"Scythes are cool!" Trinity insisted.

"You've got a point there." Fergus admitted, raising his sword and pointing it at them. Moving the blade around as if to determine the optimal way to blast them into dust, he shook his head. "Damn. Now how do I go about doing this…"

However, before anyone could do anything, Ellis - whom Trinity had been fighting before - dashed at the spirit, energy sword raised. With a series of cutting motions, they sent several acrid slashes hurtling at the two of them. Terry raised his shield and projected a barrier to protect them, although the slashes cut into the barrier and shattered it. Trinity narrowed her eyes as Ellis lunged at her, blocking the masked mage's sword with her own scythe. Sparks showered the area as the two of them strained against each other, trying to displace the other's blade.

Fergus pointed his sword at Terry, its edge glowing indigo, only to get struck by a heavy blast from his left. As the blast shimmered over the magical barrier enveloping his form, Fergus turned to see Simon waving at him. "Oi! You didn't forget about us, did ya?"

Fergus laughed. "Oh, no. Not at all!"

Wreathing himself in shadowy energy, he launched himself like a rocket. Benjamin stepped in front of the cop and swung his mace, stopping him cold. Fergus raised his blade and slashed in front of himself, but Benjamin ducked under it while Simon punched over his head, catching Fergus in his armored face. Stumbling backwards, the mage-knight struck Benjamin's mace and sent him flying a few meters away, before extending his blade and lashing out at Simon again. His target leapt away, firing several blasts that Fergus blocked.

 _For humans, they're damn good at this._ Fergus mused. _What are my men doing?_

In truth, his men were attempting to fire on their enemies, but Jerry and Olivia had cut them off. Olivia had raised a shimmering wall that held off all of their shots, while Jerry took explosive potshots at the approaching soldiers. The soldiers had realized their situation and raised walls of their own, virtually turning the skirmish into a siege. The ones that tried to flank them were spotted out and shot at in short order.

Meanwhile, Trinity and Ellis were still locked in a furious melee brawl. The spirit dodged and blocked for her life as Ellis went on the offensive, their blade tainting the air with an acrid scent. As Trinity stumbled, Ellis raised their hand and shot out a cone of sickly green lightning, which Trinity barely blocked with a shield. Raising her scythe, she slashed several times, forcing Ellis back. The masked mage swung their sword, only for Trinity to knock the strike wide, charge her body with magic, and ram the top of her scythe straight into their mask. The impact cracked the lenses of their eyes, which evidently ticked them off. Letting out a hissing screech, Ellis lunged at Trinity, entering a range where the scythe's blade was rendered fairly ineffective. As the child attempted to put some distance between her and her foe, Ellis kneed her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could react, Ellis flicked their sword, taking off Trinity's right hand at the wrist.

Trinity shrieked and doubled over in pain, clutching the wound. As blue sparks poured out of it, Fergus shot his subordinate a glare. "Ellis, what did I say? Do not do any lasting...harm?"

He trailed off as Trinity stumbled to her feet again. The sparks that had escaped from her wound coalesced around her wrist, taking the shape of a hand again.

"Wait, what?" Fergus asked incredulously as he blocked another one of Simon's blasts. "She can just...regenerate like that? No...nothing is invincible. She has to have _some_ kind of weakness."

Trinity didn't answer him, zig-zagging towards Ellis with renewed fervor. As Ellis struck the ground with their hand, causing it to erupt with acrid fumes, Trinity held her breath and leapt through the smog, striking Ellis in the arm. Raising their sword, Ellis was forced to go on the defensive as Trinity struck them repeatedly with her scythe.

Noticing an indigo flash in the corner of her vision, Trinity ducked out of the way as Fergus' bladed whip sailed over her head. The dark knight jerked their arm, causing the whip to hurtle back towards him. Trinity managed to block the strike with her scythe, but it gave Ellis enough time to grab her wrist and hurl her into a nearby tree. Trinity was fazed by the impact, but got to her feet instantly.

 _They can't kill me, as long as my crystal still exists._ Trinity thought. _But most of all, they actually can't kill me - they need me alive. I can take advantage of that…_

Noticing that Jerry and Olivia were getting pushed back, she ducked aside as Ellis lunged at her, before cutting down the tree behind her and making it fall on her adversary. While Ellis was temporarily pinned, she dashed towards her friends, projecting a shield in front of them to strengthen their defenses. Once the storm of magical projectiles had died down a bit, Trinity raised her hands, willing her own magic to materialize as blades of power. Sure enough, numerous blades shot from her hands, cutting up the ground and tearing into her enemies' barrier. Jerry and Olivia followed up with a series of magical rays, which punctured the opposing barrier outright and forced the enemy mages to duck for cover as Olivia called down a storm of magical comets.

"Thanks, Trinity!" Jerry shouted gratefully as he kept up his attack.

Trinity just smiled and gave him a thumbs-up. Then, with the fervor of a fighter who didn't fear death, she charged into the fray, becoming a whirlwind of destruction. Blocking, slashing, and firing beams, her sudden rush had taken the mages off guard. By the time they had drawn melee weapons, Trinity had already neutralized about half of the squad - making sure not to kill them, of course. Olivia flushed out the rest of them with a barrage of magical bolts from her staff, forcing them to fall back.

Then, Trinity realized something. "Hold up. Where's Terry?"

Olivia looked to her right and gasped. "Wait...is that really him?"

Trinity looked where she was pointing and went pale.

Amidst several dead bodies, Terry roared with raw, unfiltered anger as he furiously blocked and slashed. He was fighting about six enemies at once, having engaged a group of ranged mages that had little hope of fighting back at that distance. But what concerned the trio most was the fury with which he tore into his foes. He was clearly injured from his fight, but he was still systematically targeting and ruthlessly eliminating his foes as if possessed. As one of the mages pulled out a dagger and tried to stab him, he blocked the strike with his shield, before thrusting his blade at the man's neck. The mage tried to turn the blade away with a barrier, but Terry charged his body and pushed on it until it burst asunder, upon which his blade cleaved straight through his target's neck. Yanking the blade out of his latest victim, Terry plunged the blade into the ground, triggering a dust explosion that blinded the sword-wielding knight charging at him. As the man coughed and rubbed their eyes, Terry ducked to the side, cutting through the straps holding his armored chestplate on before yanking it off with his hands. The knight attempted to defend himself with a bolt of lightning, but Terry turned away his blade, causing the bolt to fly into the cave's ceiling instead. Now out of options, the man barely had time to raise his sword before Terry disarmed him and plunged his blade into his torso, before slashing upwards and kicking his body to the ground.

As Terry engaged the next set of enemies, Jerry put his hands over his mouth. "Dear god...since when was Terry this brutal? He's just killing them...he's doing it so easily too…"

Seeing all of the blood dripping from Terry's sword made Trinity want to faint. This was her caretaker - someone that she _knew_ was kindhearted, even if he tried to hide it. She had known that Terry had a more violent side to him, but seeing him ruthlessly kill these knights scared her. _Is this what Terry has been holding back? What happened to violence being the final option?_

Fergus was displeased. "Damn it all. You're stronger than I thought. Killing all my men like that...I won't stand for it. Prepare yourself, kid!"

However, in that moment, Fergus had an epiphany. _If I focus enough...I can feel a magical connection between the spirit and that boy. I'm guessing that the boy is her lifeline...wait, or the boy could actually just be carrying her lifeline._

"Hey, don't just run away from us!" Benjamin yelled as Fergus ran off, Ellis following closely behind his superior.

Terry had just forced the last three members of the group to flee when Fergus bore down on him, eyes blazing with violet light. The truth was that Terry was fairly tired from his prior fight, so he could only raise his shield as Fergus lowered his sword and swung upwards. The force sent Terry hurtling several meters into the air and crashing back down, tumbling to a halt amidst some glowing mushrooms.

"Terry!" Trinity cried, dashing in front of him to protect him.

To her surprise, Terry stood up, glaring at the mage. "Who...who's next?"

Before anything else happened, Ellis dashed onto the scene, glowing blade in hand. Noticing the fatigued Terry, their broken eye lights narrowed as they charged. Fergus was about to join his subordinate, but the four others had fought past his forces and were now directly engaging him.

Not about to let her caretaker get killed off by this nutjob, Trinity raised her scythe in anticipation. As Ellis raised their blade and slashed, Trinity struck their hand with her scythe, causing the blade to embed itself in the ground, searing a hole through the dirt. Instead of pulling it out, Ellis simply deactivated the blade and prepared to strike again - but during those precious seconds when the laser blade wasn't active, Trinity lunged and grabbed it. Ellis let out a muffled grunt and struggled as Trinity tried to yank the sword hilt out of their hand. However, Ellis soon regained their composure and raised their other hand, its metal fingertips glowing bright green.

Trinity turned pale. If that was like what Ellis had done to her at the Vivid Clarity headquarters, she'd be wracked with incredible pain if they were to so much as touch her. And if that happened, Ellis would likely be able to reclaim their sword.

However, what neither of them accounted for was the fact that Terry was already back in the game. Running up to the two of them while they were occupied, Terry kicked Ellis in the back of their leg, causing them to buckle and keel over. During this moment of weakness, Trinity yanked the sword out of Ellis' hand. Tossing it to the ground, Terry shattered the device it with his own blade while Trinity raised her scythe again. Ellis barely had time to look up before Trinity's scythe struck them cleanly in the face, sending them tumbling across the floor.

Fergus turned towards his downed subordinate. "Ellis!"

Raising his hands, he let out a shock wave that repelled a charging Benjamin. Running over to Ellis, he offered a hand. "Get up. Are you...alright?"

He trailed off as half of Ellis' mask clattered to the ground, along with several plates of metal. Ellis' breathing was heavy.

Then they got up...and everyone simultaneously flinched.

Underneath the mask, Ellis' face might have once been human, but in that moment it was anything but. What laid under the mask was essentially a deformed lump of discolored scar tissue, intertwined with what seemed to be metallic parts. The mouthpiece of their mask was directly connected to where their mouth and nose should have been, and it actually looked _seared_ in place. In place of eyes, Ellis had gnarled bundles of wires - while the wires on the right side of their mask were still connected to the mask's right eye-light, the part of the mask that had fallen off had taken Ellis' left eye with it, leaving a mess of wires spilling out of their eye socket.

Trinity screamed in fright as Terry's eyes widened. Fergus' mask separated and revealed his face, as if Fergus needed to see this through his own eyes. "Ellis? That's what you...oh, lord, so _that's_ why you're always wearing that battle armor. Is your _whole body_ like this? What happened to you?"

Ellis breathed raspily through their respirator, their remaining eye flickering. Then, their fingertips began glowing bright green again. Through a hole gouged into their chestplate, several crystalline structures within were shown glowing bright green. Lightning crackled around Ellis' body as they jerkily straightened up, steam hissing out of their broken mask at an increasing rate.

"Ellis, stop it!" Fergus yelled. "There is no need to continue! Let's retreat, and get you fixed up…"

He was cut off as Terry leapt at the wounded mage-knight, sword raised. "I won't let you get away!"

Ellis' remaining eye widened as the glow from within their armor intensified. Then, they released a crackling maelstrom of green lightning - one that seemed to burn away the very air that they were standing in. Gritting his teeth, Terry switched out his shield's battery crystal, inserted a fully charged one, and willed all of its power to channel into forming a conical barrier in front of him. Then, he lunged, the barrier clashing with the maelstrom as Terry slowly powered through the storm.

Ellis glared at him and suddenly let loose with an even stronger pulse of energy. The glowing green objects within their armor shuddered violently - some even starting to shatter. As acrid smoke poured out of Ellis' armor, the lights within the mage-knight began to go out, one by one.

 _Crap, they're really pulling out all the stops. I'm assuming those are power sources of some kind - maybe Ellis' body is too damaged to perform normal magic like Fergus and the others._ Terry thought. _Damn, I don't know if I can overpower this…_

_...No, wait. I'm still wearing my old combat equipment, which means..._

Sheathing his sword to free up a hand, Terry slowly reached for the strap on his back. Then, in a lightning-quick motion, he grabbed his rifle, took aim at Ellis' head, and fired.

Instantly, the storm subsided. Ellis staggered backwards, the magnetically-accelerated bullet having pierced through their remaining eye. Terry dropped the gun, drew his sword again, and lunged for the killing blow.

As he seemed to watch Ellis desperately stumble backwards in slow motion, a dark satisfaction overtook Terry. _Oh, now you're scared. Because I'm about to take your life, like you tried to take Trinity's._

However, unlike the other times this happened, Terry didn't chide himself, embracing this feeling instead. _The cult deserves none of my mercy. Now, please die._

With that in mind, he plunged the sword into Ellis' chest hard enough for the blade to emerge from the other side of their torso. A chill ran over Terry's body as he realized that there were no sounds of flesh being torn apart - only metal. Regardless, he grit his teeth, charged his arms with magic, and slashed downwards, ripping open Ellis' armor with a horrible metallic screech. Ellis let out a distorted, inhuman wail, attempting to grab at Terry with their final breath, but Terry stopped their hands with his shield, before slamming Ellis into the ground and yanking his sword out. Ellis' respirator let out a final hiss of steam as their remaining eye flickered, and went out.

All was silent except for the hum of the fighters' magical weapons, and the mechanical sounds of Ellis' armor powering down. Terry panted heavily, as he suddenly became aware of how much blood was stained on his blade.

"E-Ellis…" Fergus muttered. Looking around to see that most of his soldiers had fled, he lowered his head. "Alright. You win this battle, surface dwellers. But mark my words - I won't stop until I have that spirit. I promise you this."

And with that, Fergus' armor glowed with violet light as he launched himself towards a nearby tunnel, his soldiers following suit. Taking one last look at his new enemies, he fled the scene.

Terry panted some more, feebly trying to walk towards the fleeing mages. "No...we're not done here...I'll crush all of you…"

The last things he saw were his friends' worried expressions before he collapsed, his mind fading into unconsciousness.

 

"Fergus." Adam said as the mage-knight walked in, Bjorn and Celeste at his side. "How did the meeting go? Judging from how tired you seem, I assume something happened?"

"...Sir, I have something to report."

Adam's glowing eyes narrowed. "Hm? Well, don't leave me hanging!"

"...Surface dwellers have appeared. They have learned how to use magic - most likely taught by Granberg - and have enough strength to be considered a threat. I admit that I underestimated them. They ambushed my group and forced us to retreat. Ellis was among the casualties. And most importantly...they have a _spirit_ with them. Their only visible motive at the time was to kill Ellis for a death curse they had laid on the spirit - but judging by some of the equipment they were carrying, along with the presence of the spirit, they are almost certainly in league with Vivid Clarity. Their intentions are likely the same as Vivid Clarity - bring the spirit to Archon, and awaken them before us."

Adam took a few seconds to process this information. Then he exploded.

 _"WHAT?_ So you're saying that you were bested by _surface dwellers?_ Preposterous! And for those surface scum to have learned _our_ magic, to use against us? That is _unacceptable!_ And what was it you said? That they have a _spirit_ with them? That's empirical proof that those wretched scientists have all but _beaten_ us already! I don't understand! I don't understand any of this!"

Bjorn's reaction was more subdued. "That's definitely important."

"Adam, calm down." Celeste pleaded. "Well, this is quite the turn of events. If these surface dwellers are truly a threat, then we should be concerned. However...if it is true that they have a spirit with them, that saves us a lot of work. Instead of creating our own spirit - something that is currently not working - we can use theirs instead."

Fergus raised a hand. "Er, if I may, I thought that to awaken Archon, we needed a spirit to summon him _of its own volition._ As much as I'd like to, we can't just _make_ her do what we want. If we capture her, she's not going to be happy about it."

Celeste waved it off. "I'll figure something out."

Adam calmed his nerves. "Alright. So, that happened. Like Celeste said, this is both good and bad news for us. I'll have to think this through a bit more. But for now, this is what I want to happen."

The three mages stood at attention.

"Fergus, you're our best mage-knight general, so I want you to do this. Bring a larger force so that you won't be defeated like this time, and continue to pressure those trespassers into our domain. I want you to funnel them…"

Adam pointed at a map. "...into _here."_

Celeste paled a bit, and Fergus coughed. "With all due respect, I thought the plan was to capture the spirit, not to kill them all."

"Yes, but the Rift of the Unreturned is one of our most heavily monitored areas." Adam explained. "If they die down there, then we can retrieve the spirit without too many problems - if I recall, spirits shouldn't die as easily as humans. I'm fairly certain that even if anything happens, we can send forces to pull the spirit out of there."

"...You're assuming that beast won't eat her first. She can't be invincible. Nothing is."

Adam waved him off. "Details, details. I want to stop them before they get any leads on Archon's location. They're likely not going to hand over that spirit without a fight - if we do this, that monster might do our job for us."

Fergus was about to explain how irrational this order seemed, but the fiery look in Adam's eyes told him that the cult leader wasn't about to be convinced any time soon. Sighing, he just saluted. "I'll have it done."

As he turned to leave, Adam called for him again. "Fergus?"

"...Yes, boss?"

"While you're at it, I want you to launch an attack on that old man and his school. They've clearly taken action against us by training those surface dwellers, so that renders their contract null and void. Wipe them out."

"W-What? But Granberg is-"

"Did you not hear me the first time, general?" Adam hissed. "I want that school burned to the ground. Granberg has betrayed our trust, so now he must pay the price!"

Fergus lowered his head. "...Do I have to be the one to do it?"

Adam waved his hands. "Of course not. Just see to it that the old man and his legacy is burned to the ground. There's no mercy to be had for traitors."

"...Okay."

And with that, Fergus marched out of the room.

 

"Oh, you're awake. That's great."

Terry groggily opened his eyes. His five teammates were leaning over him, concerned looks plastered onto their faces. Slowly sitting up, he realized how tired he was. "How long was I out for?"

"Don't worry, kid. It's just been a couple minutes." Simon assured him.

Terry stumbled to his feet. "That battle...we won it, right?"

Benjamin nodded. "We won...but there's something I'm concerned about. During that battle...what exactly had gotten into you?"

"What?"

Trinity's eyes were filled with sadness. "You were...I don't even know how to describe it. You just slaughtered all of those soldiers without even thinking about them - they're our enemies, but you're still _extinguishing people's lives._ Watching you just take their lives like that scared me, Terry. And when you finished off Ellis...I had never seen you this angry before."

"Is there something wrong with that?" Terry asked, glancing at his blood-stained blade. "I already said that there was no mercy in my heart for the Cult. Maybe you got to live with our parents before, Ben, but they're the reason they were constantly on the run - the reason why I barely ever saw them, even before they died. And their death...it was Pablo's crime group that was responsible, but that cult still had to do with it. Vincent's father already paid their price...but the cult has gotten away with everything. It's only fair that I pay them back for what they did to me. And Ellis...cursing Trinity like that, just so he could relish in her suffering…"

"Terry, this was never about revenge." Benjamin muttered, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm glad you told us about this so quickly, but as your older brother, I'm worried for you. Last time I checked, this expedition was to save Trinity, and to save the world. Not to go and commit murder in order to satisfy a personal vendetta."

"But...if someone does something to you, you retaliate. Surely the cultists deserve worse than this..."

Simon shook his head. "Listen, Terry. I'm not a psychologist, but I can tell you from my heart that revenge isn't a motive a hero should have. If you're focused on getting revenge for what the Cult did to you...then doesn't that make you just as bad as the cultists? That's what they want, too - retribution, or at least a twisted form of it."

Those words struck Terry hard. "You...have a good point there."

"Terry, don't get me wrong, I'm mad at them too - for what they did to mom and dad." Benjamin told his brother. "But you can't condone brutal violence against someone just because they've wronged you. The capacity for restraint is one of the things that makes us human - and it's something the Cult seems to have forgotten. So, what I'm saying is that you can still fight the Cultists, and even kill them if necessary - but I don't want you to lose sight of our real goals here."

Terry nodded. "I understand. And...I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Yeah, so don't do that again!" Trinity sniffled, tears welling in her eyes. "You were so scary during that fight...that wasn't the super nice caretaker I knew!"

Terry managed a small smile. "I'll try not to from now on."

Terry and Olivia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Anyways, I'd say we earned a rest." Benjamin told the group, sitting down on the dusty ground. "Since a lot of us have been injured somewhat - especially Terry - it'd be a good time to try out some of those potions the old man gave us."

All of them sat down. As Terry drank one of the healing potions, he shuddered as he felt his wounds close with surprising haste. Looking over at Ellis' ruined body, Terry was tempted to go digging through it to see what their armor was really like - but he decided against it. Even when an absolute monster like Ellis was concerned, the dead still deserved respect.

_The capacity for restraint…_

Simon pulled out a can of soda. "Hey, technically I can make this into a potion as well, right?"

"Yeah, of course...hey!" Benjamin yelled. "Where did you get that from? Sodas aren't included in our rations!"

"I got it off of Vivid Clarity headquarters!" Simon said proudly. "They had vending machines, and I thought I might want a soda during our world-saving adventures!"

Benjamin shook his head. "Unbelievable! During an expedition like this, healthy eating is of utmost importance! No soda!"

"No! I'm not going to toss it out!"

Trinity laughed and reached out her hands. "I've never had a soda before! Can I try some? Pretty please?"

Benjamin sighed exasperatedly. "Not you too!"

Jerry and Olivia laughed, and Terry just laid down and sighed. This was only the start of their journey, but at least they had saved Trinity and won their first battle against the Cult. That was a good sign for the future.

_One goal of two completed. Now...it's time to try and save the world._

Terry chuckled at how cheesy that goal sounded before closing his eyes to rest.

As cheesy as it was, it was still something worth fighting for.

 

_At the Idyll…_

Granberg stared out the window, his golden eyes surveying the feed from one of his magical surveillance runes. A large army of cultists had massed outside of the Idyll, brandishing all manner of weapons. He even spotted some heavier weaponry, such as magical artillery, golems, and even combat avatars.

"Granberg!" the silver-armored knight at the front of the force yelled. "Under direct order from sir Adam, we have been ordered to destroy this cave, along with the school inside of it. He has told us to wipe out all of its inhabitants...but if you surrender quietly, I'm sure we can try to work something out. I am giving you one hour! Afterwards, I will authorize the use of force!"

"Geez. They _really_ want me dead, huh?" Granberg mused.

One of his students ran up to him. "Teacher, I don't like our chances. They have a lot of soldiers, and they're armed to the teeth. What do we do?"

Granberg snorted. "Well, we're not going to submit. Neither will we wait around to be blasted into oblivion. Are you getting what I want here?"

"...Are you suggesting we fight?"

The elderly mage nodded. "This might be our last stand, but we might as well do our damndest. Give the order to follow the standard defense protocol we arranged. Get the seniors to distribute the order too. Then, prepare for battle."

"Yes, sir! We'll do you proud, we promise!"

As the student left, Granberg grabbed his staff and headed downstairs. His students were supremely disciplined, so they had managed to get into a battle formation within the span of half an hour.

He sighed. _Heh. Even if this is our final hour...I'll be proud of all of you, just because of the fact that you chose to stand against these unforgiving odds._

Looking into the distance, he wondered how his six newest students were doing. _You guys...because of what I did for you, my life and my school are on the line. You better do me proud and save both our worlds, otherwise I swear to return from the afterlife and give you lot a good beating!_

"It's been half an hour, so I've decided to check in." the general from before yelled into the Idyll's intercom system. "Any response?"

Granberg yelled back. "Oh, I've got your response all right."

The gate to the Idyll suddenly unsealed, and the flabbergasted army outside was met with a formation of mages-in-training, weapons glowing and at the ready. As both sides prepared for battle, Granberg gave what would possibly be the last instruction of his long life as a teacher.

_"Give them hell!"_


	10. Hunted

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD THIS TOOK FOREVER WHY WAS IT SO LONG

It had only been a few days since the six delvers had scored their first victory, and things were already taking a turn for the worse. Evidently Fergus hadn't been too happy with his prior loss, because he had returned the day after - and he had brought a _substantially_ larger force this time. Over the course of the next few days, the group found themselves being pushed back by their relentless assault - defending themselves as well as they could all the while.

Fergus himself had become a major problem. He had apparently underestimated them during their first battle, because he seemed to have suddenly scaled in power. With their rudimentary magic, there were few things that could penetrate the barrier that now permanently encased him, and blocking his attacks had become far harder. To make matters worse, he was far stealthier than any armored knight had a right to be - this might have been because of the shadow magic Granberg had told them that he used a lot. The group had already fallen victim to at least three sudden ambushes from the dark knight.

With fighting Fergus' forces becoming harder with every passing day, the group had no other option but to constantly stay on the run, and to hope that they were headed towards their destination. Fergus had told the truth that day - he wasn't going to give up until he captured Trinity. And he had figured out the secret behind Trinity and her core crystal - something that concerned the group greatly.

However, today was a bit different. They had fought off a scouting group and had booked it as fast as they could, Fergus following closely behind...but for some reason, the masked knight had just...given up. The group had run down a pathway into a massive ravine in the earth, and Fergus had just stood at the entrance, even though he probably could have chased them in. This gave the group some relief, but at the same time it unsettled them. _Is there a reason for this?_

But for now, the group had entered a massive cave of a peculiar nature. It didn't look like any of the other caves they had seen in the underground. There was minimal lighting save for the large glowing mushrooms growing around the place, and the entire area was shrouded in fog. There was vegetation growing, but there seemed to be a lot less of it than there had been in the caves that they had visited. Ominous black stalagmites jutted out of the ground.

All of this made the group wary, but they had still decided to take a rest there first. If Fergus' forces were so kind as to give them a respite from their pursuit, they were willing to take it. At least it wasn't _totally_ unpopulated - there were life-forms all over the place.

 

Jerry hid behind a rock as Olivia raised her staff. Quarreling a couple meters away, a group of Helions quarreled with each other, their mandibles biting and discharging electricity. Apparently the things were extremely active hunters, so they were always competing for food.

Even with the ability to detect electrical signatures, that meant nothing if the Helions were preoccupied at the time. Making sure that the Helions didn't notice her, Olivia raised her staff and unleashed a storm of magical bolts. Temporarily putting their quarrel aside, the Helions raised their magical shields to deflect the shots. However, during this time, Jerry loaded a heavy chunk of a stalagmite into his bow, before using magic to launch it. The improvised projectile punched through the barriers and obliterated several Helions at once, their soft bodies instantly getting crushed by the force.

Out of the remaining Helions, three turned tail and fled, while the others opened their mandibles and began to charge electrical blasts. In a flash, Terry leapt in front of his friends, raising his shield to block the twin bolts of lightning. As the Helions used their springlike legs to dart towards their prey, Terry ran towards them, blocking the bolts before leaping at them and cleanly slicing through the icosahedral organs on their heads. The predators collapsed instantly, fluids spilling out of the crystalline organ that served as their lifeline.

Terry sighed and sheathed his sword. "It's a shame these guys aren't edible. They bother us a lot."

"Can't blame them, though." Jerry replied simply. "They're just looking for food."

"I never said they were to blame. I just said it's too bad we can't get any use out of them."

Olivia motioned for them to follow her as they headed back to the temporary camp they had set up. Seated at a campfire, Simon was cooking some of the meat they had caught earlier. After finding out that the cop's cooking skills were rather subpar, Benjamin had made a point of teaching him about it.

"Hey, kids." Simon said as he waved to them. "Want to try some?"

"I'll pass." Terry replied, as Jerry and Olivia shook their heads. "Hey, where are Benjamin and Trinity?"

"Oh, your brother spotted an Irradiated Prismar a minute ago." Simon told him. "He went off to observe it...at a safe distance, of course."

Jerry gulped. According to the guidebook Granberg had given them, the Irradiated Prismar was a very rare mutation of Prismar that generated its own energy in the form of highly volatile magic radiation. They were docile - they had no need to compete for food, and they had no natural predators - but approaching one was incredibly dangerous. "You sure he'll be okay?"

"He'll be fine." Terry said confidently. "Knowing my brother, he'd never do anything dangerous unless he was totally confident he could get away with it."

"That sounds kind of like me." Jerry mused. "Kind of."

Olivia frowned. "What about Trinity?"

Her question was answered when Trinity sauntered into view, carrying a huge bag on her back. "Terry...I did what you told me to. It worked! And I even found a pack of Prismars on the way back, so I got a lot more battery crystals for us!"

Dropping the bag on the ground, the group could see that it was full of what appeared to be celery stalks. In her hands, Trinity clutched a smaller bag of what looked like clear water balloons - but Terry knew better.

"Well done, Trinity." Terry said as he took the smaller bag, causing Trinity to beam happily. "I'm glad you managed to safely extract that thing's acid sacs. There are a number of things that I'd like to try with them."

"Hey, what exactly did you ask Trinity to do again?" Olivia asked.

Terry shrugged. "I saw a Melter when we passed by here. I was convinced that Trinity could bypass its predatory system, and the thing is edible. So, I told her to go cut it up and bring it back - and extract its acid sacs if possible."

"You _what?"_ Olivia nearly shouted. "Wait...that makes sense. Never mind."

Melters were an uncommon type of flora in the underground, resembling an oversized clump of celery stalks. Despite their benign appearances, they were carnivorous - sensing prey through a sensitive web of roots, before firing globs of metal-liquefying acid to dissolve prey on the spot, where they would be absorbed by its roots. However, since Trinity could fly, Terry had been convinced that she could bypass its sensory system - and judging from her haul, she had succeeded. Terry had also wanted some of the Melter's airtight acid sacs for future use - the acid wasn't volatile until it touched oxygen.

At this moment, Benjamin walked out from behind a small group of trees. "Hey, guys. I finished my observations. Trinity, it looks like you took care of that Melter just fine."

"Yeah!" Trinity told him proudly. "As long as I stayed above the ground, it couldn't sense me at all! It barely even moved when I cut it open!"

Benjamin was about to reply, but he heard an echoing screech reverberate through the area. "Nobody move!"

The group froze like statues.

With a terrible shriek, a Ghast flew into the space from another cave system, its colossal serpentine body coiling as it surveyed the area with its four golden eyes. As its gaze passed over the group, all six of them held their breath. Vivid Clarity didn't have too many notes on the creature, but Granberg's had told them that the Ghast had difficulty seeing smaller objects that weren't moving.

Sure enough, the Ghast ignored them. Swooping down on an unfortunate group of Prismars that tried to flee, it snagged one in its mouth and took off again. The Prismar struggled against its grip, but the Ghast firmly grasped it with its tongues, disassembled its shell with its serrated teeth, and hungrily devoured its innards.

"Ech…" Trinity muttered.

"Rules of nature, kid." Benjamin said simply.

The Ghast discarded the Prismar's shell and shrieked as it found its way towards its next target. However, before going for the dive, it seemed to go back on its decision. The serpent flinched and started circling the local area, screeching.

"What stopped it?" Simon asked.

Jerry squinted. "There's something there...it looks like a Battery."

Benjamin sighed. "A Battery? Here? After I read that guide, I had hoped that we'd never have to meet one of those things…"

Terry just nodded. From how Granberg had described those things, they were basically biological weapons platforms. Massive isopod-like creatures completely covered in chitinous plate armor, with numerous slots in their shells that housed natural hunter-killer drones. The Battery had formed a symbiosis with a species of bizarre flying creature - the Battery let them live within its shell and sap nutrients from its body, and the creatures would launch themselves at targets with some form of gas-based propulsion. They would explode on impact and shower the target with acid, or alternatively track them down and harass them from range with acidic bolts. Either way, it would break down prey for the Battery to consume, or ward off predators.

_How did evolution get so crazy down here? Or did Archon actually just create these things' ancestors when he blessed this place's fauna?_

The Ghast screeched, seemingly wary of the Battery. The Battery itself didn't do much but stare idly at its would-be-predator, its eyes glowering underneath its plated armor.

"Let's get out of here and pretend we never saw anything." Simon whispered. "I don't like our chances with either of those things."

Before any of them could do anything, however, there was a low rumbling. Suddenly, the ground around the Battery darkened, before numerous thorny, dark tendrils shot out of it, wrapping around the giant insectoid and immobilizing it. Its many legs undulated frantically as it attempted to open the hatches in its armor and fire its symbiotic seekers, but the tentacles held its armor plates shut while more of them lifted it up, plunging themselves into its unarmored underbelly. As dark blood poured out of its wounds, the mortally injured Battery twitched erratically before ceasing its movements.

The Ghast shrieked and attempted to flee, only for several more tentacles to rush out of the earth and shoot towards it. Coiling its body, it began using its jaws to rip at the incoming tendrils, but there were far too many. The dark appendages wrapped themselves around the Ghast, immobilizing it as several more punched holes into its membrane. The Ghast roared and shriveled up as the lubricating fluid within its body spilled out of the numerous holes the tentacles had made in its outer skin. Before long, the tentacles pulled it to the ground with a crash, several more emerging from a nearby stalagmite and prying the clear armor off of its head before plunging themselves into its now-exposed head. As the Ghast went through its final death throes and went limp, the ground seemed to darken again. To the group's utter shock, the thorny tentacles seemed to pull the fallen beasts _into_ the ground.

Then, the corpses were gone without a trace.

Olivia was shaking. "What...what the hell was _that?"_

Benjamin was pale. "I...have no idea. The guide didn't tell us anything about this - and I read it down to the last letter."

"Well, I'm getting a pretty clear message here - we should get the hell out of dodge, and fast." Simon muttered. "I don't know what that thing is, but it doesn't look friendly."

Before any of them could move, however, there was another quake. Then, a ring of the same thorny tentacles sprouted from the ground around them, trapping them.

Jerry nocked an arrow. "Well, so much for that plan."

As the six of them prepared for battle, there was something on Terry's mind. From the way that...thing had expertly killed the Ghast and the Battery, it was pretty clear that it was no mere beast. The thing displayed _actual intelligence._

The tentacles lashed out, striking again and again. As the group fought them off, they noticed that they were tough, but not _that_ tough - a flurry of good hits would shred them in short order. However, once one was cut to pieces, another one would inexplicably show up to replace it.

Terry blocked one of the barbed appendages with his shield, only for three more to attack him from different directions while he was occupied. Trinity swooped in and sliced them to pieces, only for one to emerge from under her and snag her ankle. As the spirit yelped in alarm, Terry cut the tentacle in half before blocking another one. _Damn it! These things are way too coordinated! What kind of monster is controlling these?_

Slowly but surely, the endless stream of enemies started taking their toll on the group. They had already had to eject and replace their battery crystals many times, and they were gradually being herded into a smaller and smaller circle, even as they tried to run.

Benjamin yelled and deployed a spherical barrier over them as the tentacles' spikes started to glow bright purple. Then, the appendages began firing wave after wave of energy blasts at them, which hammered away at Benjamin's shield. Even though the shield was holding, every laser was punching another dent into it. He grit his teeth. "Whatever this thing is, it's strong! How many damn tricks does it have?"

"Don't ask me!" Olivia shouted as she blasted some more tentacles to shreds. The moment that one of them punched a hole into the barrier, the others grabbed the edges of the opening and pulled, violently ripping the shield apart.

"What?" Trinity asked incredulously. "The thing's smart!"

As the tentacles poised themselves for another barrage, Jerry grit his teeth. "Terry, now would be a good time for some protection!"

"On it!" Terry yelled as he stepped in front of the group, his shield in hand. As the tentacles all launched themselves at them, Terry deployed a frontal barrier and started blocking like his life depended on it. Fortunately, Terry's reaction speed was fairly fast, so he was barely managing to deflect all of the strikes.

"You go, kid!" Simon said encouragingly.

As Terry continued blocking for the group as they slowly inched towards the nearest cave exit, they felt an unseen animosity charge the air. Then, Simon's eyes widened as he saw a dark spot materialize under Terry. "Terry, look out!"

Terry barely had time to look down before the dark spot expanded, causing him to drop as if the floor had given way underneath him. As Trinity cried out and grabbed his arm, the tentacles took the opportunity to lash out at him. A number of them wrapped around him to immobilize him, while one of them glowed bright purple and curled up like a snake preparing to strike. Trinity hastily chopped through the tentacles, but the glowing one slipped through her whirlwind of strikes, plunging itself into Terry's arm.

The puncture wasn't deep, but Terry shuddered as the tentacle's thorns rhythmically pulsed red several times, as if forcing something into his body. As the tentacle retracted, Terry collapsed to the ground as Trinity tried - and failed - to catch him. "Terry! Are you alright?"

Terry groaned and tried to sit up, only for icy dread to creep over him once he realized what was happening. He wasn't sure exactly what that thing had done to him, but he could feel his muscles seizing up - like they were turning to stone. "I think that thing...paralyzed me, or something. I...can't...move…"

As Terry's entire body became stiff, several tentacles reached out and snagged his legs, attempting to immobilize him again. In a panic, Jerry and Olivia grabbed his arms and pulled while Trinity hacked away at the tentacles pulling in the other direction. "Hey! Let him go!"

Terry's face was contorted in a pained grimace - both from the paralysis and the tug-of-war his body was being subjected to. "Jerry...get the crystal. If this thing gets me, I'm not letting it get her, too."

Jerry hastily did as he asked - just as the tentacles knocked him over, swatted Trinity aside, and wrenched Terry out of Olivia's grasp. The group watched in horror as the dark tendrils grabbed Terry tightly and lifted him into the air.

"Terry!" Trinity screamed, raising her scythe and lunging. "Give him back!"

Her attack was cut off when one of the tentacles turned towards her and fired a magenta laser, which struck her in the chest and exploded. As Trinity crashed into the dirt, the group stood transfixed as another shadow materialized in front of the incapacitated Terry. As a sinister form rose from the shadows, the group got their first glimpse at the creature's true form.

Hovering silently in the air, a massive eyeball scrutinized its latest catch with its vertically-slitted pupil. The eye seemed glass-like in texture and glowed a bright fuchsia color, giving it an artificial, polished look. A dark crown of black rock flowered out from behind the eyeball, covering its back half. As its gaze turned towards the party, veins of violet energy pulsed over the eyeball and its rocky crown.

"Uh…" Olivia said slowly. "What is that?"

"Probably the actual creature we're dealing with." Simon muttered. "But why did it show itself?"

Benjamin quickly racked his brain. "It dragged those beasts into the ground earlier. Perhaps its eyeball is the part that actually intakes food. I think it was saving the other two for later - but it wants to eat Terry _now."_

"Well, I don't want Terry to get eaten by a giant eyeball!" Trinity wailed. "What do we do?"

As the creature's eyeball began to glow even brighter, Simon noticed a Prismar scuttling nearby. _Too dumb to live, huh? Well, I can do something with this…_

Slowly reaching into his bag, he dug a trapping noose out of one of its pockets. Hurling it at the Prismar, he managed to snag it by one of its claws. Yanking on the rope, Simon brought the flailing creature down - only for the fuchsia eyeball to turn towards it in alarm. Several more tentacles materialized around the downed Prismar, paralyzing it like it had done to Terry, ensnaring it, and bringing it up to its eye level.

Simon was surprised, but he realized that he could work with this too. As the creature's gaze shifted between Terry and the Prismar, as if unsure which one to eat first, Simon raised his blaster and shot at the Prismar. The blast only served to damage the creature's armor, but the floating eyeball dilated in alarm and curled its tentacles around the Prismar defensively.

Simon fired a couple more potshots at the Prismar, causing the eye to crackle with apparent annoyance. Sure enough, it moved the Prismar closer to its eye, while moving the tentacles holding Terry farther away.

Simon pumped his fist triumphantly. "Now that I've made it think we're competing with it for the Prismar, it's going to try and eat it as fast as possible. During this time, let's find a way to deal with that eyeball. I'm fairly sure that attacking it will inflict some major damage."

Benjamin nodded. "Quick thinking, Simon. Alright, you heard the man."

The group split up as the glowing eyeball glared at the struggling Prismar, before unleashing a narrow beam of magenta light. The beam rapidly disintegrated the creature, turning it into motes of violet light. As the eyeball greedily sucked up the light and absorbed it into itself, Simon grabbed Benjamin, charged himself with magic, and hurled him at their foe.

The eye barely had time to turn around before Benjamin slammed into it, swinging his mace directly into its pupil. As minute cracks spread across its gem-like surface, the creature let out a nova of crackling light and started trying to shake Benjamin off. Its tentacles simultaneously turned around to face its offender.

Benjamin either didn't care or didn't notice. Raising his mace, he continued hammering away at they thing's eyeball despite its incessant movement. As the tentacles shot themselves at him, Simon leapt in and started blasting them apart with his weapon. "They're distracted! Guys, go get Terry!"

Nodding, Jerry and Olivia opened fire on the thorny bundle holding Terry captive, tearing away at the tentacles. Then, Trinity yelled as she leapt at the weakened cluster, neatly vivisecting the last of the tentacles. As Terry fell to the ground, Trinity barely caught him and immediately booked it.

Benjamin knew he couldn't fight off this assault forever, so he struck the glowing eyeball one last time before leaping to the ground. As the group stood at the ready, the creature's tendrils writhed as they formed a protective shell around the eyeball. Glaring at them through the undulating mass, the creature simply sunk into the ground and vanished into thin air.

"That was... _really damn scary."_ Olivia breathed.

"You don't say." a pale-faced Simon replied. "I have no idea what that thing is, but I _do not_ want to meet it again."

Trinity, however, had more concerns. "Terry! Are you alright?"

Terry tried to move, but his body was still frozen. He could barely force his vocal cords to function properly. "I...still can't...move."

Benjamin tried to use healing magic on him, but it didn't seem to do any good. He grit his teeth. "Damn it. I don't know what that thing did to him, but this healing isn't working. I...I should have helped you defend. I'm sorry."

Simon motioned to Benjamin. "Get me some bandages! I need to treat his wound."

Terry tried to move again, although it was visibly causing him pain. "I can't...keep Trinity's crystal like this. Benjamin...keep it for me, alright?"

Benjamin nodded as he took it. "I'll do my best."

Terry managed to move one of his fingers, although his face was beaded with sweat from the effort. However, Trinity shook her head. "Don't do that! You don't have to push yourself…"

"She's right, you know." Jerry told him.

Terry grit his teeth. "...Alright, if you say so. Damn...I hate feeling useless, though. And you guys will have to take care of me..."

"Don't worry about it." Trinity said, placing a hand on her chest as if to swear a solemn oath. "After all, for my entire life as a spirit...and while I was suffering from that curse...you were the one taking care of me, right? So, now it's my turn to take care of you...or, at least I'll try my best to. Please, allow me to repay that at the least."

Terry couldn't help but smile a bit. "...Thanks for that, kid."

Olivia laughed and put a hand on her head. "Well said, Trinity."

"Oh, really? Thank you!" Trinity asked excitedly. "It sounded really cool in my head!"

Despite his pain, Terry internally laughed. _She sounded so mature a second ago...well, she's still young. Who said you can't be both at once?_

 

The group had carried Terry around like a sick patient as they attempted to find a way out of the caves. The area seemed to be unmarked on all the maps that they had, which only made things worse. Even as the hours ticked by, and the time back at home turned from morning to evening, they had become hopelessly lost in this maze of dark stone.

Taking care of Terry was easier than they thought. The paralysis didn't _completely_ immobilize him, so his vitals were still functioning well. And while he needed to be fed, Terry could still eat fairly well. Trinity tried her best to make sure her caretaker was comfortable, but Benjamin was trying particularly hard. He was Terry's brother after all - he felt responsible for letting Terry get hurt like this.

To make matters even worse, that monster from before had somehow intercepted them. In fact, it had been _waiting_ there, as if it had known that they would show up in that particular area. The thing didn't seem happy about the injuries it had sustained earlier, but they seemed to have healed. Now, it had reappeared and resumed its assault, although its eye was no longer visible.

Trinity panted as she hacked and slashed, chopping the incoming tentacles to pieces. As the dark appendages fell to pieces around her, violet lightning sparked along the dark soil as the dirt coalesced itself into replacement tendrils, surrounding her. Trinity flinched as a stray tentacle wrapped around her leg and pulled, knocking her over. She grit her teeth as the tentacle continued pulling at her leg, gripping it so hard that it would have cut off her blood flow if she actually had blood.

A few meters away, the others stood in a ring around Terry, blasting at the incoming tentacles, blocking lasers, and striking the tendrils that attempted to snatch up their incapacitated party member. Slowly, their unseen offender seemed to change their strategy, attempting to gradually force the five of them apart. The group was having none of it, though, constantly staying in a tight group and combining their firepower.

Soon, the group was forced against a cliff face. While this may have seemed like a bad thing, this also meant that their enemy couldn't surround them as well. As the tentacles were forced to all attack from one direction, the party focused their firepower and started pushing the tentacles back - even while Trinity was occupied with getting rid of the tentacles trying to pin her.

The air charged with animosity again as the creature's eyeball rose from the shadows once more. Glowing with magenta light, the tentacles suddenly attacked with renewed fervor. In addition, the eye's pupil contracted as it began firing off searing blasts of energy to assist its appendages.

"Why did that thing show itself?" Jerry grunted as he shot at an incoming tentacle, only to realize that his battery was out. As Jerry switched his battery crystal, Benjamin shrugged as he raised a shield. "Evidently its tentacles get stronger when the eye is in proximity."

The creature's eye unleashed another ray of light, shattering Benjamin's shield. Instantly, several of its tentacles morphed into cutting ribbons and shot themselves at him. As Simon attempted to shoot them down, one of them cut into Benjamin's arm. Gritting his teeth, he slammed his mace down onto it, knocking it into the ground before smashing it to pieces.

Olivia grit her teeth. "Our chances don't look good. We've got to get that eyeball, or we die here. Well, you know what they say...desperate times call for desperate measures. Have at you, foul beast!"

Simon was confused. "Wait, what do you mean by that-"

He was cut off when Olivia yelled defiantly and charged headlong at the floating eyeball.

"Is she suicidal?" Benjamin yelled. "Cover her!"

Simon raised his blaster and opened fire, while Jerry raised his bow. _Do I run in to help her? Maybe free Trinity and get her over here? Keep shooting from here? What do I do?_

Trying to foresee all of the future outcomes made Jerry dizzy. _Damn it! I'll just have to play it safe and shoot from here!_

Olivia reloaded her staff and used its magic to charge her body with inhuman agility. Ducking and weaving between the tentacles and lasers, she somehow made it through the writhing mess and was now facing down the core of the chaos.

The eye seemed surprised as Olivia glared it down. _Alright. The thing's pretty smart, so I can't let my guard down. I'll feint to the right. Then, I'll run to the left and make it eat lasers._

Just as she planned, she feinted to the right...but as she turned to her left, she saw her path blocked by a tentacle. _What?_

She ducked under its strike and materialized a magic blade from her staff, cutting it down where it stood. _Damn it!_ _What if I launch projectiles into the air…_

Before she even finished the thought, several tentacles soared above her, their barbed tips pointing directly downwards. As they struck, Olivia rolled aside. _What the hell?_

She grit her teeth. _Alright, how about head-on? Surely it won't expect that..._

Olivia sprinted forward...only for several tentacles to catch her in the crossfire of their lasers. She didn't have enough time to fully shield herself, so she could only scream as she felt the searing lasers burn away at her flesh.

Collapsing in a heap, she struggled to her feet. The thing's eyeball was staring intently at her, its surface pulsating with odd patterns of fuchsia light. There was something deeply unsettling about its glare...Olivia felt like it was seeing straight through her.

_It can't be...can this thing...actually predict my thoughts?_

Olivia was trembling, both from pain and the thoughts racing through her mind. Taking the opportunity, the creature procured several more tentacles from the nearby vegetation, and poised them to strike.

Trinity saw this and held back a scream. She wouldn't be able to bear having another one of her friends get injured by this monster. However, her leg had been ensnared again, and even if she were to cut the tentacle, there were several more right behind it.

She grit her teeth and steeled her nerves as she realized what she had to do.

Closing her eyes, she raised her scythe and took off her own leg at the knee.

Trinity nearly blacked out from the sudden agony, but her sacrifice worked. The tentacles didn't expect this, so they simply grabbed at the severed part of Trinity's leg, which was already beginning to dissolve. Panting heavily as she tried to numb the pain from her injury, she used her magic to leap in front of Olivia as the tentacles struck, willing a part of her body's magic to manifest as a frontal shield. A number of the tentacles went through her shield and into her body, causing her to scream in pain - but the deed was done. None of them had managed to get through to Olivia.

The older girl skittered away, a hand over her mouth. "T-Trinity!"

The creature inched backwards and retracted its tentacles as if shocked. Her wounds spewing blue sparks, Trinity just panted as they regenerated. "Pain is temporary...I'm the only one who can afford to do stuff like this to protect you guys, so why shouldn't I?"

Olivia was about to argue, but she realized that she might need to admit that Trinity was way more resilient than she thought. "Be careful! There's something up about that thing...it saw through my every move!"

The creature's eye turned towards Trinity, who leaned on her scythe while her leg regrew. The eyeball began pulsing with odd patterns again, and Trinity suddenly understood what Olivia was talking about. There was something about her adversary's glare coupled with its rhythmic pulsing...she felt like every square centimeter of her body and soul had been laid bare for the creature to see.

As she prepared to fight it, the eye's pulsating ceased. Slowly shifting to the left, its gaze seemed to trace an invisible line along the ground, terminating at Benjamin - or more specifically, Benjamin's backpack. Its pupil narrowed as it seemed to reach an understanding, before it turned towards Trinity again.

Somehow, Trinity knew what had happened. _Oh, no! Now it knows that crystal is my weak point! If that thing tries to attack it, I...I'm not sure if I'll survive!_

A tentacle snuck up behind Benjamin, striking him in the back and knocking him over. Sure enough, the tentacle had struck the pocket holding Trinity's core crystal - Trinity suddenly jerked forward and coughed, like someone had just tried to break her spine. Struggling to get up, she watched as several tentacles snaked towards Benjamin and attempted to rip into his backpack.

"Hey! Get off, all of you!" Benjamin roared, prying the tendrils off of him. "This is my stuff! Shoo!"

But not only did the tentacles not understand English, they were also beginning to swarm him in particular. Jerry and Simon raised their weapons and shot at the tentacles, but they couldn't unload all of their firepower lest they wanted to blast Benjamin and his wounded brother to ashes.

Meanwhile, Trinity and Olivia stared down the ocular menace. Trinity was scared - if that thing got her crystal, there was nothing stopping it from just ending her on the spot. They had to neutralize this thing, and fast.

Just as they prepared to charge at the glowing eye, their adversary flinched and looked up - just as a black-cloaked figure fell from the cave ceiling. The creature barely managed to procure a cluster of tentacles to shield itself as the newcomer slammed into it as a comet of fire, the force sending the beast reeling a bit. As the creature's eye shot backwards and dilated in surprise, the hooded humanoid drew two sabers from their belt - one burning with red-hot fire, the other sparking with blue lightning. Pointing both swords at the creature, they unleashed a spiralling burst of elemental fury, which the creature countered with a beam from its eye. The two beams collided and produced a massive explosion, the shockwave forcing Trinity and Olivia to shield themselves.

As the creature produced several more tentacles and poised them to strike, the sound of exploding dynamite echoed through the cave. Then, a second fiery comet struck the creature in the back of its eye, knocking it into a nearby stalactite. The flames wreathing this comet dissipated, revealing it to be another hooded figure. Instead of swords, this newcomer wielded a massive scythe that was at least as tall as she was.

The creature recovered and shot a few tentacles at the newcomer, only for their scythe to begin glowing orange. The moment the figure's scythe cut into the first tentacle, a crackling explosion burst forth from its blade, nearly blasting the thing apart. As the other appendages tried to surround their target, they found themselves on the receiving end of the weapon's explosive power.

The fuchsia eyeball glared at its opponent, creating more tentacles out of the nearby soil as its eye began to pulse with those odd patterns from before. Instinctively, Olivia cried out in alarm. "Watch out! That thing has some kind of foresight!"

To her surprise, the scythe-wielding figure's weapon stopped glowing. Then, they ran to the side, attempting to draw the fiend's attention away. Oddly enough, it didn't do anything to block their path - in fact, the creature's eye stopped pulsing and shook as if it were annoyed.

However, this was merely a distraction. While the beast was occupied, the figure from before had been seemingly charging up something. They plunged their swords into the ground, the weapons emitting a golden pulse that swept over the area. In an instant, all of the creature's tentacles seemed to shudder as if suddenly bound by unseen ropes. Then, to the group's surprise, almost all of them dissolved on the spot, their material returning to the soil from that they had been made from.

Benjamin gawked, offhandedly striking down the last tentacle that had tried to run him through. "What was that?"

The creature's eye flashed several times in apparent panic, quickly zooming away from the group. The scythe wielder unleashed several blasts of fire that struck the fleeing creature, but it wasn't slowed down. Taking one last look at its adversaries, the creature seemingly opened a hole in a stalactite and flew in.

And suddenly, there was silence.

The first newcomer sheathed their swords and spoke in a gruff male voice. "That's unfortunate. I was hoping we could kill that thing once and for all today."

"You always say that." his partner said, their voice displaying a more feminine tone. "But hey, at least we saved these guys."

"Uh…" Olivia asked, "Who are you two? Are you from around here?"

The two figures took off their hoods, revealing that they were human - or at least, they looked human. The scythe wielder was a woman with long blonde hair and brown eyes, while the other was a man with messy black hair and green eyes. Now that they were standing still, the group could see that they wore sturdy-looking silver armor underneath their cloaks, the metal plates pulsing with lines of colored light.

"Hey." the woman began simply. "The name's Carol, and this is my husband Steven. We're not safe yet, so I'll give you the short version for now. We're humans from the surface, who got trapped down here and learned to live in the underground. It was just bad luck that we got lost in this place specifically, though."

Trinity shook her head. _They look...familiar, somehow._

Steven nodded. "Yeah. But who might you be? Are you from the surface, too? And how did you end up in the Rift of the Unreturned, anyways?"

Benjamin walked up to the newcomers with the rest of the group, carrying Terry over his shoulders. "Yeah, we're from the surface. We got lost down here, and then attacked by that thing. Thanks a ton, by the way. We'd be dead meat if you hadn't saved us."

Jerry blanched. "Rift of the _what?"_

Steven shook his head as he surveyed the tired, injured party. "Never mind, we can talk later. Let's get you fellas somewhere safe, first. Carol, lead the way."

As the blonde woman nodded and began leading the group towards one of the faraway cave exits, her scythe trailing golden light, Trinity asked a question. "Hey, mister...what was that creature?"

"The Overseer."

"What?"

"That's the name that's been given to it - both by us and the local cultists." Steven said. "It's arguably one of the strongest monsters to ever stalk the underground, if not _the_ strongest. It's a predator with incredibly developed magical abilities, and packs the inhuman intellect to match. Fortunately, it only lives here - partially because even those cultists would rather have it contained in the rift. However, it's so good at killing that it's actually exterminating all life in the area, and has begun to starve. So, I expect that it'll probably go on a rampage sooner or later."

The nonchalance with which he said this was a bit jarring to the group. However, Simon asked another question. "Hey, what exactly did you do back there? You know, the thing you did to purge its tentacles from the area?"

Carol answered the question for her husband. "First, you have to understand how the Overseer functions. The eye and all of the tentacles it creates all wield a highly developed natural magic that allows it to spread its influence, to put it simply. This influence manifests as a aura around anything it touches or otherwise interacts with - although it can directly spread it as well. And anything affected by this aura essentially becomes a part of the Overseer. It can sense anything in contact with an affected object, form rifts in space between said objects, and of course mold those objects into more tentacles for itself. It's a terrifying ability, especially since the Overseer has already claimed the vast majority of the Rift as its domain."

Steven nodded. "However, we've studied this thing for a while. And, with the help of some of the survivors that used to exist here…"

"Used to?" Jerry asked.

Carol shook her head. "They're not here anymore, that's for sure."

Steven continued. "...we found an application of magic that would purge the influence from afflicted objects. In reality, it's just a slightly more specialized counter-magic field of sorts, but this kind of magic is really resource-intensive - especially since we as humans don't have any magic in our bodies to begin with. I managed to pull it off this time around - and Carol's actually doing this right now to mask our path from that fiend. Otherwise, it'd be able to track us even now."

"Scary…" Olivia muttered.

Steven nodded. "Yeah. But we've managed to set up several campsites, free of the Overseer's influence. One of them is nearby. To be honest, keeping them secret from this nigh-omniscient beast is a bit of a chore, but hey, it's safe."

Noticing Terry's plight, Steven raised an eyebrow. "Paralyzed by that thing?"

"Yeah." Terry grunted. "Thing's a...piece of work."

Carol nodded. "You got that right - that paralysis is one way it captures particularly stubborn prey, or prey that it wants alive. Fortunately, we've made a medicine of sorts for that."

Benjamin perked up. "Wait, you can cure this?"

The woman nodded again. "Kind of. It's a potion designed to ward off paralysis, slightly enchanted to counteract the Overseer's specific brand of magic. It'll make life a bit easier for the time being, but its main purpose is to help with rehabilitation. If you want to get better quickly, you'll have to take this regularly, and get your body back into working condition as soon as possible."

Terry tried to nod. "I'll...do whatever it takes."

Steven smiled. "A fighter, I see! I like that. What's your name, kid?"

"Terry."

Carol thought about that. "Funny. I vaguely recall that name. Did I know someone named Terry before?"

Steven shook his head. "Maybe. It sounds like a pretty common name."

 

_Ten minutes later…_

The group had arrived at the cave housing Carol and Steven's camp, and were now making themselves at home. Unlike Granberg's massive home, the camp was nothing special - just a stone house, with several tents surrounding it. A stream trickled in from one side of the cave, and several planter boxes held rows of vegetables - the glowing crystals studding the boxes giving them life.

Now, the group sat around a campfire, waiting for their dinner to cook while telling each other more about themselves.

"So, you guys only grow plants?" Olivia asked. "Where do you get stuff like protein from?"

Carol laughed. "Well, the flora of the underground is really peculiar - and quite unlike the surface world. If you name a nutrient, there's probably a plant here that can supply it. Of course, we do go hunting - it's just that we don't keep animals here, since they're liable to draw the Overseer's attention."

"The Overseer…" Terry muttered. The two survivors had given him the medicine they had mentioned, and his muscles felt a bit better now. "That thing hangs over this place like some dark cloud, doesn't it? Has...anyone ever come close to killing it?"

"Yes." Carol answered. "But the creature is clever - the only thing that surpasses its might is its intellect. It knows when to attack and when to retreat, and its warping powers make it hard to corner. Plus, it nearly never shows its eye unless it _really_ wants something dead, or wants to eat something right away."

"You two seem to know a lot about this thing - you've lived with it for some time, I imagine." Olivia told them. "Well, do you have an answer for how it seemed to be able to read my moves?"

Steven nodded. "Do you understand how magic works?"

"...Yeah? It...uh...binds to the user's consciousness, and tries to bring it to life?"

"Exactly. The first part is what matters the most for this." Steven continued. "Nobody knows how - even those cult researchers - but the Overseer has the ability to exploit the first part of that explanation. Its eye is extremely fine-tuned, to the point where it can see the flows of magic in its environment. And by seeing the flow of magic, it can also witness the moments that it binds to a consciousness."

Olivia blanched. "Wait, you don't mean…"

Steven looked grim just talking about it. "It's learned to interpret this so well that it can read the consciousness of things it focuses on - allowing it to read their minds and even see their actions in the near future. The ability to see the future of its prey...this is one of the things that makes this monster such an unbeatable predatory force. The Overseer is exactly what its name indicates - it sees everything."

"W-What?" Jerry asked, his face pale. "This thing sees the future? Does this ability have any weaknesses?"

"In theory, it can only do this on one entity at a time, but that's just speculation." Steven replied. "But what we know for certain is that since it works by reading the flow of magic through an entity, it doesn't work on entities with no magic flowing through them - like surface humans such as ourselves. You saw what Carol did back there - she stopped the flow of magic coming from her powered armor, and that blocked its foresight."

"Hold on." Simon asked. "I feel like you still haven't explained something. How did you get down here?"

Steven seemed to be deep in thought. "Let's just say that we were interested in the underground, and went on an expedition - only to get stuck down here. After a couple years of living down here, the Cult found us out, and chased us into this chasm. It's one of their favored things to do to outsiders - so that the Overseer does their dirty work for them."

Carol added to that. "We picked up on magic from a number of more friendly settlements here - although, to be fair, we had done research on it beforehand. Then, we crafted this powered armor to grant us the powers of the underground, along with these magical weapons. They're pretty sketchy, not going to lie, but they still work well."

Benjamin nodded. _I feel like that's not the whole story, but they don't have to tell us._

"Say," Carol asked, "we haven't asked you your names yet, have we? My apologies - I must have been caught up in the current events. May I?"

Benjamin nodded as he pointed around the group. "Alright. You know Terry already. I'm his older brother Benjamin. These young fellows here are Jerry and Olivia, good friends of my younger brother. That man is Simon, a cop who volunteered to come down here with us. And this young lady here is-"

"W-Wait!" Steven stammered. "Is that-"

"A spirit. Yeah. We came down here to save her from a death curse, but we're also here to try and awaken Archon to save the world...or something. I'm still a bit confused myself."

"Incredible!" Carol breathed. "The surface world really did create a spirit after all?"

"Yeah, those scientists at Vivid Clarity did! And out of all the people they chose, they chose me!" Trinity proclaimed proudly. "My name is Trinity! It's a pleasure to meet you..."

She faltered when Carol flinched like she had been stabbed in the gut. Steven choked and nearly fell into the campfire.

"Uh...are you okay?" Trinity asked concernedly.

No response.

Terry looked a bit uncomfortable. "Um...did she say something wrong?"

Suddenly, Carol spoke up in a hoarse whisper. "T-Trinity? Is that...really you?"

The spirit was confused. "Um…"

Steven sat down heavily, his face in his hands. "I...I never thought I'd see you again. It's been so long...so long since we lost you."

Trinity's mind spun. One by one, memories clicked together in her head. Then, tears instinctively welled up in her eyes as she realized why those two looked familiar.

"...Mom? Dad? It...it can't be..."

Carol nodded as she stared at the spirit with teary eyes. "Trinity!"

Jerry blanched. "W-What? But I thought Vincent said they had never been seen again after…that...expedition..."

Steven looked shell-shocked, yet unimaginably happy. "I...had always hoped that I'd be able to meet my daughter again. I thought it was impossible...and yet…"

Trinity's face scrunched up as she held back a flood of tears. "I...I…"

As she looked back at her group, Terry gave her a reassuring look. The message was clear. _Hey, you told me it was okay to cry. Don't you dare go back on your own word._

With that, the floodgates burst open. Trinity burst into tears, wailing pitifully as she leapt at her long-lost parents. Amidst the flickering firelight, the couple embraced their sobbing daughter in a tight hug, too shocked to even do anything but smile and cry silently. To them, all that mattered in that moment was the fact that their family was back together after all these years. The world could have burned to ashes around them, and they still wouldn't have noticed.

The rest of the group watched on, their hearts warmed by the sight. Terry in particular was quite pleased. "Heh...at least that's one good thing that came out of this."

Olivia smiled as a tear came to her eye. "Yeah. This is just wonderful."

As Trinity kept sobbing into her parents' arms, Carol lightly stroked her daughter's head. "Trinity...oh, god. There are so many things that we had wanted to tell you after your passing. But I suppose the first thing we have to say is...well, we're so sorry. For everything - for neglecting you when you needed us, for letting you die..."

"It...it wasn't your fault!" Trinity bawled. "Please, don't blame yourself! Vincent already told me about your final wishes...I never hated you, I promise! I never stopped loving you as my parents! I knew you always loved me as your daughter!"

Steven hugged her tighter as tears streamed down his face. "We heard about your situation from our caretaker. If only things had been better...you were hiding it well, but you must have been so sad. Fate is cruel sometimes…"

Trinity nodded tearfully. "Yeah...but it's alright now. Thanks to the people at Vivid Clarity, I was given a new life. And my new life was filled with happiness, thanks to the wonderful person who took me in, taught me, and raised me. Now...I get to meet my real parents again. Despite everything...I'm so happy, but...I can't stop crying."

Carol wiped the tears from her daughter's eyes. "That's...not a bad thing."

Steven smiled. "Took you in, you say?"

"Terry found me one day, and kind of adopted me. He's pretty prickly at times, but he's super nice. He taught the new me about the world, about right and wrong. He educated the new me about the sensations of the world, both good and bad. And eventually, his care let me recover my old memories - and he forgave me for how I had wronged him in the past. Even after learning about my real parents...even after _meeting_ my real parents...I'll still be grateful to Terry, forever and ever!"

Carol and Steven looked at Terry, who lowered his head bashfully. "Um...her recounts are greatly exaggerated, I assure you."

To his surprise, the couple lowered their heads in respect as Steven voiced their shared opinion. "Exaggerated or not, the fact is that you took care of our daughter. You took her under your wing, and helped her in her time of need. For this...you have our gratitude."

Terry was a little bit embarrassed by this show of gratitude, but accepted it. "Er...don't mention it. It was nothing, really."

Trinity just laughed as her parents smiled. Remembering something, Steven chuckled. "Heh. Suddenly, your choice of weapon makes a lot more sense now."

Trinity tilted her head. "Huh?"

Steven pointed at his wife. "Carol here is strangely enamored with scythes. The moment she realized that we'd have to make weapons to channel the magic of the underground, she immediately jumped on the opportunity. I guess it's like mother, like daughter, huh?"

Carol nodded abashedly to verify her husband's statement.

"That's understandable!" Trinity chirped, creating her weapon and striking a pose with it. "Scythes are so cool!"

"I know, right!" Carol exclaimed, hugging her daughter so tightly that Trinity started wheezing. "Finally, someone gets me! Everyone tells me that they can be impractical at times, but they're just way too cool...they're a great intimidation factor, as well! I spent so long trying to make my scythe the way it was...I based a lot of the design after this mythical, explosion-wielding dragon I heard about during our journey down here. Now, with the help of our magically-powered armor, this wondrous tool can channel the raw explosive power of fire - it's like the blade is covered in nitroglycerin! Oh, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy thinking about it…"

"M-Mom!" Trinity gasped. "That's unbelievably cool...but please, let go! I can't...breathe..."

Terry snorted, and Steven shook his head at his wife's gushing. As Jerry and Olivia laughed, Simon tilted his head. "Kid, you don't even have to breathe."

"Hey! I might have a body of magic, but I'm human too, you know!"

Finally, Carol released Trinity from her bear hug, letting her steady her breathing again. "Sorry about that. I'm so glad that you take after us, though."

Benjamin raised a hand. "So, we know a bit about Carol's weapon, but I'm still curious. What about yours, Steven?"

Steven shrugged, lifting his swords. Now that they weren't wreathed in roiling energy, the group could clearly see that they didn't look too out of the ordinary. Compared to Carol's scythe, which was covered in what seemed to be faintly glowing orange channels for magic to flow through, his swords just looked like regular duelling sabers.

"I went for the simple and practical route, and made these two swords." Steven explained. "They're not too flashy like Carol's scythe, but they get the job done - arguably better, too. Although, Carol couldn't resist touching them up a bit - hence why they can wield the destructive powers of fire and lightning. To be fair, if it doesn't inhibit it's wieldliness, then there's no harm in adding more powers."

Carol didn't notice his comment. "And you guys have your own weapons too, I see. They seem well made!"

Benjamin smiled. "Let's just say a friend made them for us."

As the hours ticked by, the tension from their prior bout with the Overseer gradually melted away, replaced by a warmer feeling of comfort and companionship. The party rested up and healed their wounds, while Trinity and her parents had a lengthy, long-overdue chat. Carol and Steven were overjoyed to hear that Trinity's new life had been a good one so far, despite its ups and downs - although it was evident that her tumultuous past still weighed down on her.

Trinity laughed and talked for the whole time, her very form radiating with overflowing happiness. There were so many things that she had wanted to tell her parents ever since she had regained her memories of them. The same went for Carol and Steven - they were eager to share their experience in the underground, as well as the parts of Trinity's past that she had forgotten. Of course, there was no shortage of tears shed - but the three of them were happy nonetheless.

As Simon poked at the dwindling campfire, Trinity yawned. "I...I'm tired."

Terry snorted, before wincing as the action stretched his re-stiffening muscles. "Hey, you've been talking nonstop for a few hours now. If I were in your position right now, I would have been out cold an hour before. I have no clue where she gets all this energy from."

Carol chuckled. "I don't either. She wasn't nearly this excitable when we were raising her. Well, now she isn't weighed down by the problems she had before, so I guess this is her true self."

As Trinity began to nod off, she reached towards her parents. "Mom? Dad?"

"What is it?"

"...Can I sleep with you two tonight? Pretty please?"

The answer was instant. "...Of course, dear. We owe you this, at the least."

Trinity smiled and turned towards Terry, who was being helped onto his feet by Benjamin. Before she could open her mouth, Terry waved her off. "Are you out of your mind? Don't ask me for permission! They're your actual parents!"

Benjamin chuckled as he dragged a struggling Terry into one of the nearby tents so that the paralyzed teen could get some rest. Right afterwards, Simon yawned and headed for the nearest tent while muttering something about caffeine. Soon after that, Jerry and Olivia waved goodbye to the reunited family as they headed off to get some sleep as well.

Alone amidst the glowing embers, Steven smiled proudly as he picked up his tired daughter, noting that she was nearly weightless. Together, the couple carried Trinity to their own tent, where they immediately laid down on the worn mattress and tucked themselves in. Trinity wedged herself in between her parents and squirmed, causing the couple to laugh as they remembered how she had done this while she was still alive.

"It's just like old times, Trinity." Carol muttered. "Man, I can't imagine how you've changed over these years. Before, you were just our adorable little daughter. Now you've got all these wonderful powers, and the fate of the world rests on your shoulders!"

"Heh." Trinity murmured drowsily. "Being so special makes me feel a bit uncomfortable at times...but Terry's assured me that I'm still a person. It makes me nervous, though...that I'm the key to saving the world. I'm certainly not cut out for that...yet here I am."

Steven laughed. "You've just got to make the best of it. But for now...I'm just unbelievably happy that we get to be together again. I don't like lies, so I'm going to admit that we might not be able to stay together for as long as I'd like. But hey...for now, this is all I need."

Carol nodded. "This Terry seems like a wonderful person."

"He doesn't like to show it, but he really is…" Trinity muttered. "I owe him so much. For taking care of me, for teaching me how to live my new life...and just for being such a good friend to me."

Carol just smiled.

As their eyes fluttered closed, Trinity asked one last question.

"Mom? Dad?"

"...What is it?"

"Even though I'm not actually alive...even though my body is made of magic...even though I have all of these powers...I can still be your daughter, right?"

Carol chuckled and put a hand on her forehead. "Oh, don't be like that. You know the answer to that already. It's not what you are that matters, it's who you are. As long as you're still Trinity...you're our daughter, and we'll love you just as much as we did in the past. No matter what happens to you...we promise that we'll love you all the same."

A tear traced down Trinity's cheek. "Heh...thank you so much…mom...dad..."

And with that, they fell asleep, each of them wrapped in the warm embrace of a loving family.

Trinity had a good dream that night. It was her first one in a long time.

 

A few weeks passed as the surface delvers became accustomed to the shelter. Sure, the group knew that they still had a mission to complete, but they were still hopelessly lost in the Rift. Not to mention the fact that it would be suicide for them to leave the safety of the shelter without a plan to deal with the Overseer.

So, for now, the group planned for their escape, all while getting more information about the Rift and it's de facto ruler from the two survivors. Of course, Trinity was more than happy to spend time with her long-lost parents again.

Terry was having a significantly worse time. Even with the medicine he had gotten, recovery was a slow and arduous process - while he had no first-hand experience, Terry could relate it to an amputee getting used to a prosthetic. Every day, his time was spent constantly trying to get his body used to moving again - through all number of exercises that his brother had suggested for him. Thankfully, all of his friends were eager to help him out - and Trinity in particular seemed hell-bent on fulfilling the promise she had made him earlier. Outside of possibly Benjamin, she was the one who helped him the most. From helping him up when he fell, providing an endless stream of verbal encouragement, holding him steady with her magic, or even using herself as a human crutch - Trinity tried everything she could. Of course, a number of these attempts ended poorly for Terry, and _especially_ for Trinity - even a paralyzed Terry was considerably stronger and heavier than a de-powered Trinity.

In reality, Terry hated being doted on. It made him feel helpless, which was a feeling that he despised. However, he still appreciated Trinity's help, along with the help of all of his friends.

Benjamin was surprised to find out that the backstory Carol and Steven had told them was actually nearly 100% true. The only thing they had left out was that they worked for Vivid Clarity. They had indeed gotten stranded underground thanks to a cultist attack on their delving party, and had lived there for many years while honing their magic. Turns out that besides the Cult, the humans of the underground didn't actually discriminate that much against surface dwellers, assuming they were friendly. However, it had been about a year ago when they had been driven into the Rift of the Unreturned. Having met numerous survivors, the pair had watched countless others perish at the tentacles of the Overseer - and were now the only known ones left in the Rift.

"It's unfortunate, but there's no point in complaining about it." Steven had told them. "We've just got to make the best of what we've got."

However, the couple was hopeful. Before, they had been stuck in the rift because they lacked the amount of firepower to plow through the Overseer, and didn't trust their ability to sneak by the nigh-omniscient menace. Now that they had more people with them, Carol and Steven believed that they might be able to do what they couldn't have done up until now. Even though they knew that there were cultists patrolling the borders of the rift, they were sure that they could actually slip through their defenses - they would likely be less of a threat as the Overseer. If all else failed, the eight of them could possibly just brute-force their way through the defenses.

As they got to know their their foe better and started formulating an escape plan, the thought of a farewell lingered in their minds. Ideally, the group wanted to escape together, but the underground was too unforgiving for them to assume that was a guarantee. And besides, there was a chance that they would have to part ways later as well.

However, that day came more suddenly than they had expected…

 

"Wake up!"

Trinity's eyes snapped open. "Wha? I-I'm awake! What is it?"

Beside her, Terry jerked at the sudden noise, his fist striking the wall. The impact jolted Jerry and Olivia awake as well, who gasped and rubbed their eyes. "What?"

Standing at the door, Simon and Benjamin had worried looks on their eyes. "Kids, we've got to move. Things have taken a turn for the worse.

"What?" Terry groaned, unsteadily getting up using the crutches he had made some time ago to help his recovery. "What's wrong?"

"We've got bad news." Carol said grimly, as she and her husband entered the room. "Take a look outside."

With growing dread, the teens looked out the window. Within the dim light of the cave, several massive shapes were visible - chitinous goliaths with glowing eyes, slowly crawling their way around the area.

"Are those...Batteries?" Jerry asked incredulously. "I thought you said barely any life lived in the cave!"

"Well, normally there _isn't_ a lot of life here." Steven replied. "The fact that these things are here is a cause for concern. From my knowledge, Batteries are extremely uncommon in the Rift. For so many to appear at once...it must be the Cult's doing. They probably introduced them into the Rift to flush out survivors.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Olivia asked.

"Because of their large size, Batteries are considered to be high-value meals by the Overseer. If they're wandering around, the Overseer has probably been tracking them. And even if that thing can't see into this cave, where we've purged its influence...there's nothing stopping it from manually tracking the Batteries and finding this place itself."

Realization dawned on their faces. "Oh, crap."

Benjamin grit his teeth. "We've got to initiate this escape as it is. Staying here for too long could be a death sentence - we can't force the Batteries out of this place, they're far too strong."

Simon hoisted his backpack onto his shoulders. "So, we've got to get going. I've already packed as much stuff as I can, so we just have to-"

He was cut off as a series of explosions rung through the air. Looking outside, the group saw a group of Batteries opening fire on a cluster of tentacles digging their way into the cave. Acrid explosions erupted all over the place, but more tentacles came to replace the ones that had been liquefied. It wasn't long before cracks started to spread through the walls of the cave. With a colossal boom, Overseer busted its way into the area, its eye illuminating the dim space with an eerie fuchsia light.

"Oh, lord." Benjamin groaned. "Come on! Move! MOVE!"

Nobody objected to his command. Grabbing everything they could, the group hastily snuck out of the shelter's back entrance, before sprinting out of the cave.

 

The Overseer's eye flared as it raised its tentacles, firing off a fusillade of violet lasers. While they did little but scorch the shells of its armored adversaries, it was causing damage - no matter how negligible. However, the Overseer immediately deemed it inefficient, and stopped firing. When food was this scarce, energy had to be used sparingly.

Out of the corner of its vision, the Overseer saw those humans from before hastily escaping from the cave. It sorely wanted to give chase, but it had to keep its undivided attention on the Batteries if it wanted to keep its life. It would likely get a chance to hunt them later - only then could it devour them, along with that magic-enriched crystal it had detected earlier.

The Batteries hissed as their armored plates slid open, revealing the pods where they housed their symbiotic seekers. With a series of pressurized hissing noises, the seekers took off, screaming through the air as they tracked down their foe. The Overseer raised a wall of tentacles to block the shots, their acidic explosions melting away at its appendages.

Several of the organic drones hovered around the Overseer, bombarding it with gouts of acid. The ocular menace shot them out of the air with eye beams, before turning towards the nearest Battery. As the isopod narrowed its eyes, the Overseer concentrated on the magic surrounding it. Sure enough, its thoughts were soon laid bare for the Overseer to see - its future movements projected in its vision as holographic violet images.

All of these images flashed through the Overseer's mind in an instant. Before the Battery could even begin to attack, the Overseer already knew it was going to open its fifth and thirteenth armor plates to launch more missiles. Extending several tendrils as soon as the Battery opened its armor plates, the Overseer plunged its tentacles into the exposed openings, splattering the organic missiles within their host and melting massive holes in its flesh.

As the Battery shrieked in pain, the Overseer forced several more tentacles into the openings it had made. In a wrenching motion, the beast pulled its foe in two different directions, until the Battery was messily sheared in half. As the halves of the titanic isopod fell to the ground amidst a pool of blood, the Overseer ordered two of its tentacles to drag the corpse through a rift, and to deposit it into its nearest food storage cave.

The Overseer could tell that this was liable to be a long fight, but it would be worth it. There were nine Batteries left within the cave - which would be enough food to sustain it for some time. It wouldn't have to go hunting for a while after that - which was a rare occasion for the perpetually-starving Overseer.

As the remaining Batteries started exhausting the rest of their seekers, the Overseer methodically struck down each drone, one by one - taking a risk and expending some energy on its future sight, so that it could predict their trajectories. As long as it held influence over the area, and as long as it had the energy, it could produce virtually unlimited tentacles from the surrounding materials. Letting a couple dozen get melted into sludge by the Batteries' potent acid was no big deal.

Soon enough, all of the Batteries were out of ammunition. As the goliaths tried to flee, the Overseer cut off their path with its tentacles - only for them to start using their corrosive saliva to try and eat their way through the tendrils. However, while they were distracted with this task, the Overseer sent all of its available tentacles into rifts in the earth. Opening several rifts underneath its prey, the Overseer drove the tentacles into their exposed underbellies, straight into the part of their torsos that the Overseer knew their hearts would be in.

With at least four tentacles for each Battery, their deaths were swift, bloody and painless. All of them collapsed in heaps as the Overseer silently dragged them to its food storage. Food spoiled quickly, unfortunately, and lost its nutritional value just as fast. It had observed some of the local creatures preserve their food with ice, but it had unfortunately been unable to replicate that to this day.

But that was a problem for another time. As the Overseer turned its eye towards a small exit in the cave wall, its vision began tracking the trail of footprints leading out of the cave. For now, it would rather focus on the task at hand - tracking down its next targets.

 

_Mere minutes later…_

Terry yelled in pain as he braced himself against his crutches, using his free hand to raise his shield. He barely managed to raise it in time before several dark tentacles slammed into it, nearly bowling him over. As the tentacles tried to wrench the shield out of his hands, Trinity raised her scythe and cut them down.

Their escape plan had gone well for all of an hour. They had snuck out of the cave successfully, and were making their way towards the exit that Carol had found. With Carol and Steven's magic, they had carved a path through the Overseer's influence, purging it from their surroundings as they made their escaped. Yet even though they had removed it's ability to detect them from anywhere, it had managed to track them down manually. Evidently it had disposed of all the Batteries in record time.

Carol grunted as she swung her scythe, sending a wave of explosive power hurtling at the Overseer's eye. The creature immediately blocked the blast with its tentacles, only for Steven to leap at them and cut them to pieces with his twin swords. Farther away, Simon stood firm with Olivia and Jerry, the three of them unleashing wave after wave of magical ordnance at their foe.

Terry struggled to his feet and raised his shield again. He hadn't fully recovered from his paralysis yet, and merely moving was a chore. Fighting was out of the question - yet he could defend, at least.

As several nearby tentacles fired rays of violet light at Trinity, Terry projected a green shield over her, blocking the rays. The Overseer's eye turned directly towards him and unleashed a larger ray of energy that burned through the very air as it shot towards him. Terry raised his shield and blocked it with a barrier, but the beam slowly began to eat through his protection. Fortunately, Benjamin raised his mace and willed his magic to empower Terry, giving him the strength needed to turn the beam aside and redirect it into the ceiling.

As the Overseer's pupil narrowed in anger, Benjamin caught his brother before he could collapse. "Terry, you haven't recovered yet. There's no need to try and fight!"

Terry opened his mouth to respond, only for another bout of pain to wrack his body. "O-Okay."

As Benjamin turned to face the Overseer, Trinity at his side, the giant eyeball began pulsing with veins of purple light. Having learned that the flashing was a cue for its future-sight ability, Benjamin immediately stopped channeling magic through his body. Reaching behind him and pulling out the rifle that he had started the journey with, he let loose a barrage of magnetically-accelerated gunfire. This caught the Overseer off guard - it didn't have enough time to defend itself before the storm of metal struck, each bullet spalling off a small piece of its eyeball.

As the Overseer's eye blazed with blinding light, Trinity raised her scythe in preparation - only for Carol to grab her arm. "We've got to run! It looks like we have the advantage now, but we've only been winning because that thing doesn't have its influence spread over this place yet. Once it does...we'll be in for a beating. Come on!"

Neither Benjamin nor Trinity were about to argue with that logic. As Benjamin grabbed his brother, the two of them made a break for it. Upon seeing this, the others got the message and stopped attacking, before running as well.

The Overseer recovered as its pupil narrowed. In a swift motion, the creature swept the area with a ray of crimson light, charging the land with its influence. Noticing its prey fleeing for a narrow "bridge" of rock spanning one of the chasms in the ground, it gathered up all of its tentacles and shot towards them.

"It's coming!" Simon yelled, as he fired off his remaining shots and replaced his battery crystal. "Can we get out in time?"

"I don't know, but keep running!" came Steven's panicked reply.

The Overseer's eye flared as its tentacles formed a dense cluster around itself. Then, both the tentacles and the Overseer itself let loose with a barrage of laser fire. The bridge was too narrow for the party to dodge, so Benjamin raised a shield to hold off the lasers. As the beams pounded on his rapidly weakening barrier, Terry added his own power to the shield - but it was still fading rapidly, and they hadn't even made it halfway to the other side of the chasm.

Suddenly, the Overseer seemed to seize up. Its tentacles crumpled to the ground in a heap as its eyeball gently floated down beside them. The light in its eye dimmed as several of its tentacles opened a dark hole in the earth and slithered in. Seconds later, they hauled out the dead body of one of the Batteries the Overseer had slain earlier, depositing it in front of the eyeball. Then, the Overseer began slowly breaking down the massive creature with a narrow beam of light, hungrily and almost feebly devouring it.

"What's it doing?" Trinity asked in surprise.

Carol couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. "It's out of steam. The Overseer uses a massive amount of power while hunting at full capacity - and that fight with the Batteries earlier probably sapped its strength already. It's been forced to eat in order to avoid killing itself through exhaustion. Now's our chance - run! Faster!"

As the group ran, the Overseer looked up from its meal long enough to glare at its fleeing prey. Detecting that its influence was spread over a few of the nearest stalagmites, it sent several of its tentacles slithering into more dark rifts. Then, they emerged from the stalagmites in question, launching themselves at the party.

Needless to say, the attack took the group off guard. Carol and Steven turned on the tendrils, ripping them to pieces with their magical weapons - but several tentacles raced past them and struck at Benjamin, ripping at his bag. His eyes widened in alarm as the tentacles ripped open the pocket holding Trinity's core crystal. "That thing remembers?"

Trinity gasped and leapt for her lifeline as the tentacles tried to grab it. Unfortunately for both of them, the tentacles couldn't get that good of a grip on the crystal. As Trinity pulled, the gem shot out of the Overseer's grasp - and into the pitch-black abyss below.

The Overseer's pupil dilated as it sent several of its tentacles shooting into the chasm in an attempt to retrieve its prize. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Trinity leapt headfirst into the murky blackness to retrieve her core crystal. "Run! I'll meet you later! I promise!"

"Trinity!" Terry screamed.

"Oh my god, she just went and did it!" Simon yelled. "Well, we can't just stand around waiting for her! That thing's going to recover soon! We have to run, and just pray that Trinity makes it back!"

"Even if we take Trinity out of the equation, we need the crystal!" Benjamin replied hotly. "What do we do if we lose it?"

"Just...run!" Jerry yelled as he made a break for it.

Steven and Carol looked mortified, but Olivia looked at them reassuringly. "Have some faith in your daughter. She's strong enough to survive this, I'm sure of it."

The couple looked like they had their doubts, but even they knew that running was the best option here.

Meanwhile, Trinity's ears rung as the howling winds rushed past her. As her environment got darker and darker, her eyes remained trained on her target - that tiny glint of light sparkling in the void. If her crystal hit the bottom of the chasm and shattered, she would die a horrible, painful death. But more importantly, Terry and the others would lose their biggest chance at defeating the Cult and saving the world.

In the corners of her vision, Trinity registered the tentacles of the Overseer racing her downwards as well. _Is my crystal really that valuable to it? Maybe it would make for really high-energy food...mom and dad did say the Overseer was starving…_

Several of the tentacles broke off from the primary group and hurtled towards her, hell-bent on eliminating the Overseer's challenger. Brandishing her scythe, Trinity yelled as she slashed at the tendrils, shearing chunks of material off of them. However, the tendrils pressed onwards - grabbing her and binding her as the others shot off towards the falling crystal.

Gritting her teeth, Trinity watched helplessly as the others tendrils spiralled towards her lifeline - only to get an idea. Using pulses of magic from her hands to slowly shift the trajectory of her fall, she got up close to the walls of the chasm and slammed herself into them, grinding the tentacles that bound her against the rough stones. While the force also caused Trinity's entire body to shudder as if she had just put both hands on an active jackhammer, the friction all but shredded the tentacles, freeing her from their grasp. Shaking off the writhing remains, she dived at her target, while the remaining tentacles noticed her and redoubled their efforts.

Noticing that they were closing in rapidly, Trinity decided to take a risk. Willing her scythe's edge to turn blunt, she swung at her crystal before pulling her weapon towards herself. While she immediately felt like she had been hit in the chest with a sledgehammer, her plan worked - she fished the gem out of the air and grabbed it, mere seconds before it was about to shatter on the abyss' bottom.

Trinity breathed a sigh of relief, only to notice the remaining tentacles closing in on her. Looking upwards to see the tiny glimmer of light far above, she shot upwards like a rocket - her attackers in hot pursuit.

 

Benjamin swung his mace wildly, the blunt weapon making dry crunching noises whenever it collided with one of the Overseer's tentacles. Beside him, Carol repeatedly slashed at any approaching tendrils, her scythe causing chains of explosions to erupt from within the tentacles and disintegrate them.

While the group had gotten a head start due to the Overseer's energy problem, they hadn't managed to make very good use of it. This was in part due to Trinity's absence - they needed her in order to continue, and it was possible that she would lose them if they strayed too far from her last spot. However, the Overseer had quickly recovered and resumed its attack - and to make matters worse, it had pushed them into an area where its influence permeated nearly every square meter of the place.

Steven concentrated and tried to purge the Overseer's magic corruption, but the beast noticed this and immediately hurled several tentacles his way. Steven was forced to cancel his spell as he pulled out his swords, cutting the tentacles into thin slices. As the Overseer sent several more tentacles after him, he raised his swords and slashed, sending forth a spiral of fire and lightning which struck the tentacles head-on, causing a massive explosion that sent debris flying everywhere.

Terry blocked several more tentacles using a magic barrier, while leaning on his crutches for support. "Damn it! We were doing so well? How did it end up like this?"

Jerry grit his teeth. "Don't ask me! This thing has got its influence spread everywhere!"

Steven and Carol stood back to back, unleashing the full power of their weapons as the Overseer's tentacles bombarded them from every direction. Ever since the thing had managed to deduce that they posed the biggest threat, it had made a point of incessantly focusing them down. While they were barely capable of holding off the fierce assault, the Overseer had effectively eliminated the team's greatest combative asset.

However, Simon spotted a glint of light in the distance. Then, his eyes widened as he saw Trinity hurtling towards them like a bullet, several tentacles in hot pursuit. "Hey, guys! Trinity made it back!"

Carol breathed a sigh of relief as she dug her scythe into another tentacle, causing it to erupt into violent explosions. "Thank goodness!"

Steven noticed the Overseer turning towards his daughter and yelled in alarm. "Trinity! Look out!"

The spiritual child barely had time to register the warning before the Overseer turned towards her and activated its future sight. Now able to see every one of her movements before they even happened, the Overseer lashed out at a stunned Trinity and caught her in the chest with a tentacle, sending her flying. The spirit crashed into a nearby rock face and dropped like a stone, collapsing at its base.

"Trinity!" Olivia yelled as she went to attend the fallen child. She retrieved her core crystal, breathing a sigh of relief once she saw it was unscathed.

Steven grit his teeth as he slashed at the tentacles again, the dark appendages writhing all around them. "We've recovered Trinity, but that thing has already surrounded us with its tentacles. I don't know how we can get her out of here."

"Get her out of here…" Carol mused. "Wait. There's a way."

Steven's eyes widened. "You mean...are you sure about this?"

Carol nodded adamantly. "Simon took all the time to help us create those things, so we may as well use them."

Simon's jaw dropped. "Wait! You don't mean those magical machines, do you? We worked on them together - you _know_ how dangerous they are!"

"Yeah, but what else are we going to do?" Carol groaned, sending another chain of explosions towards the Overseer, which the creature blocked. "We've been given a chance to stop the Cult once and for all, and I'm damn ready to pull out all the stops for it."

Terry was confused. "What? What's this machine you've been working on?"

Simon looked grim. "It's an experimental device designed to channel as much magic into one living being as physically possible. In theory, it will bring their magical concentration close to 100%, and make them immensely powerful for the time being. But...for a human to use it...I'm not sure if they could make it out alive."

"W-What?" Jerry stuttered. "And you plan to _use_ this thing?"

Steven nodded as he shielded himself against a wave of incoming lasers. "Yep. The way things are now, none of us are making it out of here. That thing is far too good at multitasking. As long as its eye isn't occupied fully, there is no chance for us to sneak out of its range - and we're in its territory, so our chances of brute-forcing it are slim."

"But…" Carol continued for her husband. "If we use these devices, we could massively boost our power - even if only for a bit. During that time, we should be able to push the Overseer so hard that it'll be forced to devote 100% of its attention and power towards us. Then...then all of you could escape. If we're lucky, we might even be able to destroy it once and for all."

"Are you insane?" Benjamin yelled. "You do realize that those devices will probably cause a slew of side effects, right? And even if you do force the Overseer to use all of its power against you, what's stopping it from outright _killing_ you?"

"That's a chance we're willing to take." Carol grunted, slicing up some more tentacles before turning away a laser from the Overseer's eye. "We're the most magically inclined ones here, so we're the most likely to push that thing to its limits should we boost our power even further. You guys can escape while we keep that thing occupied."

Simon fired off several magical flares, before reloading his gun. "And just let that thing kill both of you? What kind of people do you think we are?"

"Ones wise enough to understand that this is the only way that ensures that at least most of us get out of here." Carol replied hotly. "Or would you rather that we all die here, jeopardizing our chances at getting to Archon and saving the world?"

Simon went quiet. "I…"

Olivia angrily pointed at Trinity, whose eyes had gone totally dim and vacant as she stared at her parents. "What about her? She's just met her parents for the first time ever since she died. She was so happy to finally meet you again...and now you're about to do something that there's almost certainly no return from?"

Carol flinched as her words struck a nerve. "I…"

"Don't...worry about me." Trinity muttered quietly. "This is for the best...we have to save the world...no matter what…"

"Trinity…" Terry said quietly, "You can tell us what you really feel."

"This IS what I really feel!" Trinity suddenly yelled, making everyone - even the Overseer - flinch in surprise. "I...this is what I believe...I promise...if this is for the greater good...mom...dad…"

Steven sighed as he blasted the Overseer with a direct hit to its eye, sending it reeling. "Trinity...we're sorry. But this is the best option right now - we need to maximize the number of people getting out of here alive, and we _need_ you alive. If anything, we should apologize for allowing this situation to even take place. But…"

Carol wiped a tear from her eye. "Terry...please take care of our daughter."

Terry nodded solemnly, a bitter look in his eyes. "I promise."

"W-Well…" Trinity sputtered, trying her damndest to stay calm and composed. "Please...stay safe…"

The two of them nodded, before pulling out two strange machines that looked like parts of a metal chestplate. "When I give the signal, run for it - take the escape route we planned. And in case we don't make it...farewell."

Without further ado, both of them fitted the devices onto their armor.

 

Instantly, the air around them seemed to instantly condense. As glowing waves of light started being drawn towards them out of seemingly nowhere, arcs of power shot out of the bizarre device, flailing around like the tentacles of some newborn creature. Then, the crackling streams of energy forced themselves into the pair's bodies, pulsating as if to pump raw power into their forms.

Carol and Steven screamed in agony, veins of light pulsing from underneath their skin. As their eyes began sparking and burning with unstable light, the two of them stabilized their breathing and panted heavily. Already, their body heat was beginning to make the place feel like a sauna.

The rest of the group could do nothing as the couple let out another scream - one part agony, another part determination. Then, as the crackling subsided and their bodies began glowing with a nearly divine light, the two of them launched themselves at the Overseer, weapons raised and blazing with the fury of a newborn sun.

The Overseer raised several tentacles to block them...only for Carol to raise her scythe and tear through them like they were made of water. The moment her scythe touched the tentacles, a massive explosion erupted from its blade, engulfing the three fighters in a scarlet inferno. As the beast reeled from the impact and sent another cluster of tentacles flying at them, Steven raised his blades and slashed them apart with inhuman reflexes, each of his strikes creating an elemental shockwave that further damaged the Overseer's tentacles. One of the shockwaves actually struck the Overseer's eyeball directly, spalling a piece off of its rocky crown.

The rest of the group gaped in shock as the two magically-overloaded fighters went to work, becoming flashing blurs of magic and metal. The Overseer's pupil widened as it shifted into overdrive, recalling all of its tentacles in order to defend itself. The blurs of light and shadow clashed over and over again, every impact causing shock waves to through the air along with the debris of the Overseer's tentacles.

Pushed to its limit within a matter of seconds, the Overseer's eyeball seemingly went supernova as waves of violet light pulsate from its eyeball. Instantly, the ground around them seemed to shimmer with purple light, before said light shot towards the Overseer as a myriad of brilliant rays. Absorbing the rays into itself, the Overseer and its tentacles became charged with a harsh violet light, its eyeball glaring at its foes murderously.

"Did it just...absorb its influence over the area?" Simon asked in a daze.

The Overseer instantly raised dozens of tentacles from the earth around it, their coils glowing with eerie radiance. Then, the tentacles struck faster than they could blink. In a storm of black and purple, the Overseer launched an all-out attack on its two enemies - only for them to match its speed and power with their own strikes. Carol lunged at her foe's weak point and swung, but a violet barrier manifested in front of its eye, blocking the strike. Even so, the resulting blast wave sent the beast reeling.

"It's occupied!" Steven yelled, blocking a fierce laser from the Overseer's eye using his swords. "Now's your chance! Run!"

Benjamin backed away as the others did the same. "B-But…"

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Carol yelled, her voice sounding like it was coming from underwater. Her body flickered and warped as if the magical concentration was breaking down her form. "The thing's even absorbed its influence over the immediate area! We won't get another chance! Run! RUN!"

The desperate glare Carol gave them seemed to snap them back to reality. Immediately, the six of them turned tail, charged their bodies with magic, and fled as fast as they could.

Carol and Steven glanced at them go. "All of you...good luck. And Trinity...we're so sorry."

As the battle raged behind them, Trinity just stared back at the rapidly dwindling forms of her parents in the distance. The poor girl barely lasted minutes before her veneer of mature acceptance shattered like glass.

"MOM! DAD!" Trinity suddenly wailed, bursting into tears as she prepared to shoot back towards them. As Benjamin grabbed her by the waist and tried to restrain her, Trinity struggled as she unleashed her full magical power in a bid to get away. Noticing as Benjamin's arms looked ready to snap from the strain of holding her back, Jerry and Olivia grabbed Trinity as well and pulled. "What's gotten into you? We've got to run!"

"M-My parents...my parents are...no! No, no no!" Trinity screamed incoherently between sobs. "No! Don't leave me again! Don't go! We have to save them!"

"Kid, now is not the time for this!" Simon yelled, grabbing hold of her as well. "They made their choice, and now we've got to honor it! They wanted us to escape...so that's what we're going to do!"

Trinity strained again, nearly toppling the group. "I...won't...let them die!"

Terry grit his teeth. "She's not listening to reason. I hate to do this, but give me Trinity's core crystal."

Hesitantly, Olivia handed it over. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Terry raised his hand and struck it with a chop-like maneuver. Instantly, Trinity stiffened as if her spine had been broken, and went limp."

Before anyone could question him, Terry picked up speed again. "I'll apologize later! Just keep running!"

As the group took off again, Simon carrying Trinity over his shoulder, the spirit feebly reached out to the clash far behind them. "Please…don't go..."

As pained as they were, the rest of the party couldn't spare time for her grievances. They kept running, and running, and running. They ran until their legs felt ready to melt, yet they kept going - cycling battery crystals through their weapons to keep up the magic enhancing their bodies. And eventually, they saw the light at the end of the tunnel - in the form of a massive rock face that supposedly led to an exit to this blasted Rift.

Unfortunately, as soon as they scaled the cliff, they saw a pair of cultist guards patrolling the exit - and they weren't pleased to see the humans trying to escape. "Hey! What are you doing here? Be it entering or leaving the Rift, we've been ordered to let nobody pass this point!"

"We don't have time for this." Benjamin growled, raising his mace. "It'd be nice if you let us through before anyone gets hurt. None of us are in a good mood now."

In response, the cultists raised their hands, pale flames flaring to life in the air. The group stood ready for battle...only for a dark figure to dash up behind their adversaries. In a lightning-quick motion, the figure struck both cultists in the backs of their necks, instantly causing them to crumple.

As the figure put what seemed to be glowing cuffs around their wrists and ankles, Simon squinted at them. "Another one? Who are you this time?"

The figure turned towards them, revealing that they appeared to be some kind of robot. It was covered from head to toe in dark navy plate armor which faintly pulsed with blue light, and had some kind of heavy metal pack attached to its back. Instead of a conventional face, three golden eyes glowed from within its polished metal head. A crackling lance was clutched in one of its hands.

The group backed away, only for the newcomer to raise their hands in alarm. A voice crackled out of their helmet. "My dad was right...using these things is way easier than I thought. And you guys really are here! Iris really knows the geography of this place…"

"Wait," Olivia began incredulously as she recognized the voice. "Alberto?"

If the machine could have smiled, it would have. "In the flesh! Well...not really. But anyways, the people up at VC have been tracking you through camera drones and the like, but they lost contact of you once you entered that Rift. So, Iris mapped out a bunch of potential exits, and positioned some remotely-controlled robots around the most likely exits. What fortune for me specifically to meet you here!"

Jerry couldn't help but laugh. "That's amazing. We just barely got out of there with our lives, though. We've got to run. Any ideas as to where?"

"Actually, that's another thing my dad told me to tell you. He said to head to a place called the Nexus." Alberto replied. "Apparently it's a really populated city nearby, and there's a secret Vivid Clarity outpost positioned there. They're a peaceful city, so the Cult can't attack you there without drawing the ire of all the citizens - and they need their PR. Plus, our spiritual researcher wants to meet you guys there. Just keep going northwest and you should find it."

"Thanks a lot, Alberto." Terry managed, noticing that his paralysis seemed to finally be wearing off. "We'll be sure to head there-"

He was cut off by a repeated zapping sound from behind him.

"Look out!" Benjamin yelled, tackling his brother to the ground as several unstable lasers soared over their heads, shattering some of the nearby glowing crystals. Jetting out clouds of fizzling energy and pulsating with an unsteady light, the Overseer struggled its way atop the cliff face. Its eye was cracked in numerous places and smoldering, yet its murderous expression struck fear into the hearts of all seven humans.

"What? That thing manually tracked us all the way here?" Jerry sputtered.

Olivia grit her teeth. "God, this thing never gives up!"

Alberto's eye lights narrowed. "So that's the Overseer. I've heard stories about this thing. It's...even more terrifying in person."

Trinity stared blankly at the beast. "Where...where are my parents?"

Terry was about to say something, but the creature lashed out with what few tentacles it had managed to bring with it. Immediately, Alberto leapt over their heads and landed in front of them, absorbing the attacks with what appeared to be a magical shield. Raising his lance, Alberto cut some of the tendrils apart before lunging. The Overseer jerked back to avoid being impaled, before retaliating with a laser. The beam struck Alberto squarely in the chest, but his armor negated the brunt of the attack.

The Overseer hovered drunkenly, surveying its situation. As Alberto activated several jets on his back and soared towards the beast, the Overseer dashed out of the way before lashing out again. The tentacles struck Alberto from behind, instantly scrapping the rocket boosters on his back and sending him crashing into a nearby crystalline outcrop.

"Alberto!" Olivia cried out.

While the mechanical warrior struggled to his feet, the Overseer flew higher into the air. Its light flickering and dimming, it hesitantly fired a beam at a nearby boulder, spreading its influence to the area. Nearly collapsing from the strain of the action, the creature opened a rift in the boulder, feebly reached in, and pulled out…

"Oh, no. Dear god…" Benjamin gasped.

Trinity could only stare in abject horror as the Overseer's tentacles writhed, the limp figures of Carol and Steven clutched within their grip. Seemingly paralyzed like Terry had been before, it was evident that they were still alive. Even in such a helpless state, the excess magic from their prior actions still pulsed through their bodies.

As the Overseer raised them to its eye, Trinity tried to run in and help them...but it felt like her bones had turned to jello. She tried to move...but her muscles kept failing her.

Simon reloaded his gun. "Carol! Steven! Don't worry, I'm going to save you!"

"Oh, god..." Olivia muttered as she raised her staff. "Poor Trinity...poor, poor Trinity."

Their frozen gazes turning towards the group, Carol and Steven mouthed a single word in unison.

_"Run!"_

The group was having none of it. Raising their weapons, they unleashed a barrage of magical ordnance straight at their foe. In response, the Overseer raised a wall of tentacles to block the shots - before deciding that it needed to recharge fast. As its pupil glowed even brighter, Trinity reached out feebly. "No...no…"

Noticing their daughter, the couple couldn't help but shed tears. Then, they forced themselves to say their final words.

"Trinity...promise us...please survive...please live on. We...we love you. Our daughter…"

Simon took aim and fired again, striking the Overseer directly in its eyeball. However, although it cracked it further, the creature sucked up the pain. It focused on its targets, took aim, and fired.

At the very least, Carol and Steven were disintegrated headfirst.

 

Everything faded into a messy blur of external stimuli for Trinity. She was vaguely aware of someone calling her name, but the only sound she could clearly hear was a droning whine resonating within her skull. Her vision faded into muted shades of grey as her eyes became fixated on the only thing that mattered at the moment - the Overseer hungrily absorbing the purple motes of light that used to be her dear parents.

Trinity fell to her knees, silent tears falling from her face.

_This can't be happening…_

Then, as soon as they had came, the crushing despair tearing her spirit apart was replaced with something else.

Anger.

The righteous fury of a thousand suns.

Trinity suddenly went supernova, her form barely maintaining its shape as she burst into blinding light. "You...you...you! _I'll kill you!"_

In a flash of light, she lunged at the Overseer, scythe raised and ready to kill - only for the recharged and refreshed beast to simply activate its future sight and swat her away. As she got back up and lunged again, the Overseer raised its tentacles and began a series of consecutive strikes. In her blind fury, Trinity barely even noticed as they pierced her body multiple times - all she cared about was driving her scythe into that purple eyeball that had taken her parents.

Suddenly, she felt a tugging sensation pull her backwards - just as the Overseer's tentacles converged on and struck the spot where she had just been. As she struggled against the force, she noticed that Terry and the others had already made a break for it. Thanks to her distance limit from her crystal, she was now being dragged along with them.

"Trinity, we need to go! Now!" Terry yelled.

Trinity strained again, firing slicing rays of light at the Overseer. "No! I'm going to murder that thing! I'll crush them...shatter them...rip them apart! No mercy! I'LL OBLITERATE THEM!"

"It'll destroy your body, and then it'll catch up to and kill all of us!" Olivia pleaded. "We have to run!"

Trinity kept struggling and screaming bloody murder, but she was no match for her own distance limit. As the Overseer reached out to grab her again, Alberto leapt at it and tackled its tentacles into its eye, sending them both hurtling back into the Rift. "I'll take care of it! You guys, run! Remember - the Nexus! Hopefully I'll meet you again soon…"

Alberto knew the likelihood of him winning the fight was slim, but at least he would be able to hold off that thing long enough for his friends to escape. And since he was merely controlling a robot body, death meant nothing but loss of his father's property.

_Still...that poor kid. I can't even begin to imagine…_

 

Many hours later, the group stopped for a breather atop a tall hill. Barely a kilometer away, a massive city awaited them, its medieval-style buildings glowering with firelight.

They had made it to the Nexus safely. They had made it one step closer to their goal. One step closer to saving the world. This should have been a happy moment.

Yet everyone was the opposite of happy at that moment. A cloud of grief hung over the entire group, and a trail of tears laid in their wake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~Slight credit to my friend for being a prime example of scythe fanaticism~~


	11. Advance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After an eternity and a half, I finally finished this chapter. Now that it's the summer break, I really have to step up my game. I plan to finish this story before summer ends...I have way more planned.

In the bustling streets of the Nexus, it was life as usual for denizens of the massive city - talking, buying, and selling. However, many of them couldn't help but notice the strange newcomers that had just entered their home - peculiar strangers dressed in clothes they had never seen before, carrying all manner of weapons and equipment. Judging from their equipment and their battered state, they had evidently just been in some kind of fight - probably against some of the local monsters. So, the citizens of the city decided to cut them some slack and just not question them.

Pushing his way through the crowd as politely as possible, Terry led the group towards the destination he had identified on his map, his calm face hiding a seething mixture of grief and anger. Every step they took was a stride towards a major milestone in their mission - yet none of them were happy. On the contrary, all of them were sullen at best and furious at worst.

The recent events had been hard on the group. First with Terry's paralysis and their encounter with that dreaded Overseer, then with their escape attempt. The escape had gone well for them...but at what cost? Carol and Steven had died to keep them alive, and none of them were sure if they were willing to say that the sacrifice had been worth it.

Jerry and Olivia were shell-shocked. Terry might have been different, but they felt like they were still too young to witness something like this. Benjamin was a bit more used to the idea of death, being in the army and all, but Carol and Steven's deaths had still weighed on his heart. Simon tried to keep a stoic face, but he was internally miserable. He had _nearly_ managed to kill the damn thing before it took their lives...but he had still fallen short. If only his weapon had a bit more power...just a bit more…

Of course, Carol and Steven's deaths had hit poor Trinity the hardest. She had wailed and cried nonstop for a good two hours, even lashing out at Terry when he had tried to restrain her. Yet soon afterwards, all of that furious despair had subsided, and she just seemed...broken. She hadn't made a single sound since, and her eyes were completely vacant. It even seemed like she had lost the will to move herself - Benjamin was practically dragging her. She felt more like a life-sized rag doll than an actual person at this point.

However, even in her practically braindead state, Trinity had still made sure to assist the nearly-recovered Terry whenever he showed even the slightest bit of distress over his condition. Even through the pain she was evidently going through, it seemed that she still remembered her promise.

"...Is this it?" Simon asked quietly.

Terry nodded. The group had arrived in front of an inconspicuous-looking wooden cabin. Through the window, they could see an old, suit-clad man tending to a crackling campfire. Through the reflection of a mirror atop the fireplace, they could see that he wore small spectacles and had a prominent grey mustache.

Olivia hesitantly knocked on the door, prompting the man to open it for his visitors. "Hm? Who might you be?"

"Um...I'm Olivia, and these are my companions." Olivia began. "Terry, Jerry, Benjamin, Simon, and Trinity. I...assume Alberto told you about our arrival?"

The man nodded. "Your assumption is correct. My name is William, and I'm the head magic researcher of Vivid Clarity. Hmm...you look like you've been in a fight."

"...You can say that." Jerry muttered.

William nodded. "I'm not surprised. I'm not saying they're all vicious, but the fauna of this world all seem to be incredibly dangerous. They're wonders of evolution, but they make life a lot harder for any denizens of this place."

"Well, that Overseer sure as hell wasn't one of the nice ones." Terry growled.

William's eyes widened. "The Overseer, you say? I must applaud you for surviving. Well, that means that you _definitely_ need a rest. You five, I'll take you to our facility. Oh, and definitely take the spirit with you, too. Thank goodness you managed to bring them here safely."

With that, William walked into a nearby doorway, motioning for them to follow.

 

"...How the hell did you keep all of this hidden?"

William's expression didn't change as the group gawked at the high-tech facility. "The locals are fairly peaceful. We've given them no reason to investigate us, so they don't. So, our forward base is safe for now."

He looked over the group again, assessing their conditions. "It doesn't _look_ like you've sustained any serious injuries...they could have just been healed with magic, but I can't tell that just by looking, so it should be fine. What's the condition of the spirit?"

"I'm assuming you know about her curse. We managed to get it removed." Terry replied, showing him her core crystal.

William looked at it curiously. "Well, outside of a few minor scratches here and there, you've kept your spirit remarkably undamaged. Those are too minor to translate over to their spiritual body. Well done keeping them safe so far - although I'm assuming they have enough power to keep themselves safe for the most part. Assuming you're trying to help us, we really need the spirit in as good of a condition as possible."

Olivia frowned. "Can you maybe stop treating her like she's some kind of commodity? Her name is Trinity, and she's a person just like us."

"Technically speaking, she really isn't a true human." William replied bluntly. "She once was, but now she's a human soul anchored to the world by magic. From a physical and scientific standpoint, a human and a spirit are nothing alike - we're lucky we even managed to have her retain her human mannerisms. It's damn close, but I still can't really call that a human."

Trinity silently lowered her head.

Terry shot the researcher a glare. "Hey, Trinity's been through a lot lately. Cut her some slack."

William noticed the anger in his eyes and nodded. "Hm. If you say so."

Kneeling before the spirit, Olivia tried to reassure her. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't really mean that. Don't worry about it, okay?"

Trinity didn't even raise her head.

 

_A few minutes of explaining later…_

William laced his fingers. "I...see. You six have been through a great deal. I don't know what to say except...well, I'm sorry for your loss. Especially you, girl...I apologize for being so inconsiderate.

Trinity nodded listlessly.

"She hasn't said anything ever since it happened." Terry told the researcher. "She just seems so...empty. I can't even begin to imagine how she's feeling."

William sighed. "I'm going to be frank with you - I'm a scientist, not a counsellor. I operate with numbers, formulas and calculations. The workings of a human mind...well, I understand it a lot less, to put it simply."

Benjamin sighed. "I think we should just give her a bit of alone time."

Trinity didn't reply as she left the room.

Eager to change the subject, Simon cleared his throat. "Um, anyways...Alberto told us to come here. What for?"

William shrugged. "Well, Vincent figured that it'd be a good chance for you to rest and recuperate. We can resupply you with anything you need, and discuss more plans for the future. In fact, he's requested to call us momentarily. Thank goodness the enemy doesn't know how to intercept signals."

"Alright." Benjamin replied. "Speaking of...what exactly do you do here?"

"Well, seeing as we're in the underground, we strictly do research on underground-related things." William told them. "Primarily, we document information on the flora and fauna of the underground, although we also do a lot of mapping. All of this information is for we will inevitably have to wage all-out war with the cult. In addition, we spearhead all of Vivid Clarity's spiritual research - I was the head of the team that developed our first successful model, which is Trinity over there."

"Wait…" Olivia asked hesitantly. "How many tries did you need to make Trinity?"

William's face became grim. "Too many to count. The easy part was recording the mental processes needed for a spirit's creation - we took them from willing subjects of all kinds. The hard part was actually understanding magic - even after working with it for so long, I still have extremely limited knowledge about the force. Its mere existence falls within some bounds of the scientific realm, while completely rejecting others. The fact that a human 'soul' truly existed? Preposterous!"

"Um…" Olivia continued, "So what happened to the failures?"

"Some just disintegrated on the spot. Some were completely braindead. Some were more animal than human. We terminated pretty much all of them - many of them, we had to outright put out of their misery." William muttered. "Trinity was our only successful model. Even to this day, we haven't managed to replicate our success - I blame the brevity of our discovery, since we were attacked right afterwards. The closest we've gotten are...well…"

He tapped a button on his phone, and a holographic image was projected from the nearest table. Within the image was what looked like some kind of testing chamber. Within the chamber, several humanoid wisps floated aimlessly, their flickering bodies intertwined with machinery. The gaseous beings had no faces to speak of - although their swirling forms seemed to be trying to form distinguishable visages.

"W-What are those?" Jerry asked, slightly perturbed.

"Semi-mindless spirits." William replied. "They're not totally braindead, but at the same time they lack the willpower to make their own decisions. Such spirits are useless for awakening Archon, but I proposed an idea to weaponize them. Through a combination of machinery and magic, we've managed to give them physical form, augment their strength, and control their actions - all while retaining their magical potential. While their machine parts are vulnerable, we've figured out a way to abuse their magical properties and give them a form of auto-repair, to put it simply. The result - magical drones that are practically indestructible so long as their core crystals remain intact. Combat tests are already showing fairly good results." 

"That's…" Olivia breathed. "Do they feel pain?"

"I have seen to it that they don't." William reassured her. "With the way they are now, they lack the mental capacity to process proper emotions and feelings - which includes sensations. Sure, you can still call it unethical if you want, but I'm just making the best out of the situation."

Olivia sighed. "Well...at least they're not suffering."

William's phone rang, and he wasted no time plugging it into a wall. "Oh, looks like Vincent's here."

Within seconds, the image shown by the projector flickered and changed, becoming a surprisingly high-definition projection of Vincent's face. "Hello there. I'm glad to know that you've all made it to the Nexus in one piece."

Simon shifted nervously. "Um, about that…"

"If it's about Carol and Steven, I figured it out by myself - with help from some footage, of course." Vincent said quietly. "And, uh...I'm sorry for your loss. Especially you, Trinity...oh, she's not here. And we can't even give them a proper funeral...damn it all."

Noting the team's sullen disposition, Vincent hastily continued. "Nevertheless, it wouldn't be the wisest choice to dwell on past misfortunes. This city can offer you protection, but overstay your visit and there's a chance that the Cult will retract their peace agreement with the Nexus."

Benjamin nodded. "True. So, do you have a suggestion?"

"I assume you've been looking at the maps we've given you, right?" Vincent began. "Well, assuming you're still up for it, I'll have you know that we've been searching for Archon's core ever since I made it my mission to save this world from the underground - that's one of the things we've never managed to get out of captured cultists. All of our sources have led to a particular location - a peculiar, unpopulated city that the locals simply refer to as the Abyssal City. That would make sense, since the massive cult activity tracked in the area all but tells us that it serves as a main base, if not _the_ main base of our enemies."

"Abyssal City?" Simon asked. "Sounds ominous. Mind telling us a bit more?"

"Well, from what we've gleaned from the populace, it's a medium-sized city built in a massive cavern made from nigh-adamantine dark crystals. These crystals are not the magically-charged ones that grow everywhere down here - they're magical, but they have the bizarre property of absorbing light. Using some estimates, we've theorized that the amount of energy required to provide any form of light source in that place is hugely disproportionate to the area that said source would actually light."

Simon was incredulous. "And people live here?"

Vincent nodded. "Obviously, not too many. A long time ago, apparently a brilliant magical engineer by the name of Desjardins sought to set up a civilization in the cave, in order to exploit its massive wealth of natural resources. So, through countless trials, he constructed two mighty golems of metal and raw magic - possessing unbelievably powerful generators that no living soul understands, capable of generating seemingly endless amounts of magical energy for their use. These magi-tech machines served as batteries for a grand contraption he had designed - capable of producing artificial sunlight and moonlight to give the entire city an artificial day-night cycle. Apparently one provided the light to create an artificial sun, and the other used its power over said light to produce a simulacrum of the changing sky."

"Wait," Jerry asked tentatively, "Then why couldn't he have just made them batteries instead of golems?"

"Well, Desjardins was also a weapons designer for the cult." Vincent mentioned offhandedly, making Jerry flinch a bit. "The golems' primary function was to power the city's lights, but they were also designed to be able to hold off any threats - he was more concerned with defending against the outside world rather than razing it. From our captured subjects, the cult holds a great respect for the man, despite his ideals being relatively pacifistic compared to his peers."

William couldn't help but butt in. "Apparently, people started moving into the place. However, many of them didn't like the darkened caves, even with the artificial light system. They set up civilization outside the city to try and exploit the cave's resources from there, but almost nobody lives in the city proper anymore. Since it's also relatively close to the surface, it's an ideal spot for the Cult to set up a large base."

"So, let me get this straight." Terry began slowly. "There's this big city shrouded in darkness, with an ancient dragon god sealed in that particular city. Cultist activity is at its absolute highest around that place - and you want us to _infiltrate_ it?"

Vincent nodded. "How else are we going to get Trinity near Archon's core? We can't just get them to bring it out - they'd never expose their lord to danger. As we speak, our underground forces are preparing for an all-out assault on that base. They seem to have lowered their guard as of late - we've been careful, so they probably don't really know that we're aware of their base in the Abyssal City. In fact, I'll be heading down there myself as well."

"Really now?" William asked incredulously. "You didn't inform me of this. You sure you'll be alright?"

"Relax, I've done my homework on that place." Vincent assured the researcher. "So, I've gone over some maps of the area, and I wanted to pose a plan for you. I'm still thinking about an ideal group size, but you can try to get into that cult base before we attack, or try to do it while our raid is providing a distraction. There are a lot of entry routes, for sure, but we've identified two that stand out to us."

As a marked, 3D map appeared on Vincent's projection, William squinted at it. "The one highlighted in red is the fastest route, if I recall...but it's also the one that's most likely to be patrolled, since it's essentially an open pathway of caves to the city. If you try to attack that way, stealth is going to be a lot harder. It's more likely that you'll have to use some degree of brute force."

Vincent nodded. "Took the words right out of my mouth. However, the path marked in orange is longer, but it's what we believe to be the option that provides the lowest risk of discovery. It's fairly concealed, and patrols are nearly nonexistent."

"So what's the problem?" Jerry asked. "A longer path seems way better than the alternative."

William winced. "Well, it's not patrolled for a reason. Do you see that large black cave marked on the map?"

"...Yeah?"

"Well, that's what the locals refer to as the Scorched Depths." William explained. "It's a massive cave which sits at a lower depth than the rest of the surrounding tunnels, almost entirely composed of what has been reported to be ash and volcanic materials. However, the main issue comes from the fact that the Depths are home to one creature - one of the most dangerous beasts that exists in this underground world."

"What?" Olivia asked. "Another one? What happened to the Overseer being the top predator of the underground?"

"Well, I'm afraid to say that this thing is just as bad, if not worse." Vincent said grimly, making the team flinch. As a fuzzy picture appeared on the screen, Vincent went on. "This monster has been dubbed the Infernus. It somehow doesn't need to eat, never leaves its domain and isn't predatory, but it's extremely aggressive to interlopers. And while our reports on the Overseer show its intellect and technique, the Infernus is capable of matching that with raw destructive power."

The group squinted at the picture. It was likely taken during some drone's last moments, judging from the poor quality of the image, but the form of the creature was still vaguely visible. The so-called Infernus had a massive, blackened skeletal body - one that was draconic in shape and seemed to glow with veins of volcanic flame. It seemed to be nothing but a skeleton - it didn't seem to have any skin or organs. Two wings seemingly made of pure fire spread out from its back, and six molten eyes glared at the camera from within a horned skull. Its three spearheaded tails could be seen curling through the air, their crystalline tips glowing with harsh light.

"Wow." Benjamin said flatly. "That looks friendly."

"That looks like the final boss of some RPG." Simon muttered. "You sure that thing is real?"

"I assure you, this creature is very real." William insisted. "And it packs enough firepower to put most modern weaponry to shame. From what we've gathered, this thing wields a highly advanced form of pyrokinetic magic that has an emphasis on explosive force. In layman's terms, this thing has the ability to induce explosions."

"Wait...so it can just _create explosions_ whenever it wants?" Olivia asked, flabbergasted. "How are we supposed to fight this thing?"

"Well, you aren't." Vincent told her. "We've theorized that it _is_ possible to destroy it via concentrated firepower - it doesn't have any defensive abilities - but we'd need a more dedicated force for that. The idea is to navigate its domain _without_ getting noticed - I don't like the chances of you engaging in a direct confrontation with that beast. It's been known to use its ability liberally, recklessly, and mercilessly."

William nodded. "And to make matters worse, it's suddenly gotten even more aggressive as of late. None of us know a definite reason, but that's still bad news."

"So if we're noticed, we're instantly dead." Olivia said shakily. "What's the alternative again?"

Benjamin sighed. "We go down a route where we have an almost guaranteed chance of being noticed, and hope we can plow our way through - hopefully with some Vivid Clarity backup."

William nodded. "If you go that route, we'll be sure to mobilize a larger force."

Terry grit his teeth. "Well, Trinity provides a lot of our firepower. Assuming she's unable to fight in this condition, our chances of winning a direct confrontation goes down by a lot-"

"...I can fight."

The entire group flinched and turned around to find Trinity seated behind them. Her head was hung low, but that voice had definitely come from her.

Noticing the silence, Trinity repeated herself in a small voice. "I can fight."

More silence.

Terry cleared his throat. "Trinity...it's fine if you're not okay yet. You've been through a lot...you can tell us how you really feel, not just what you think we want."

"This _is_ what I really feel!" Trinity practically shouted, promptly lowering her voice once she realized what she did. "I...I don't really know _how_ I feel. Thanks for giving me some alone time - I've been thinking a lot about what happened. It's true that I...I really thought that I would be able to live as my parents' daughter again. I..."

Her eyes filled with tears. "I...I know I was naive...but I really thought that we could be together again...forever!"

Everyone in the room - even the strictly logical William - felt a twinge of pity as Trinity broke into tears. It was evident that Trinity had a number of things to say, but nobody doubted that it was hard on the traumatized child.

However, the spirit soon dried her eyes and looked up again. "But they...they told me to survive...to live on. They wanted me to keep on going, and to save the world. And they made the ultimate sacrifice...to keep me safe. For something like that...I have to honor their wishes. Mom and dad are gone now...but it's my duty to fulfil their last request for me. I...I have to keep fighting."

"Trinity, listen carefully." Terry said slowly. "I know Carol and Steven were very dear to you, but this is about what _you_ want. Do _you_ want to keep going?"

Trinity was silent for a bit. Then, she nodded. "Yes. This is my wish as well. I want to keep going, for all of you...for the future of this world."

Terry nodded. "Then it's settled. Trinity...thank you."

"Although, if you still need a shoulder to cry on, you can use mine." Olivia offered.

Trinity smiled. "Thank you so much…"

Benjamin cleared his throat. "Well, that switches things up a bit. Now that Trinity's back in commission, we may actually have enough firepower to take the first option. I don't like our chances with that Infernus thing."

Simon raised his hand. "Honestly, I'd take the explosion dragon. These cultists are certainly going to be trying their hardest to kill us. Vincent said that the Infernus was highly territorial, but that's about it. The Overseer was starving and actually wanted to eat us, so that was different. This time, it's actually possible that we could get by that thing without it attacking - so long as we don't appear to be a threat to its territory."

"...Simon has a point." Terry mused. "If we don't look like we're trying to take over its territory, we might actually be able to slip by without a serious confrontation. However, if push comes to shove, then that dragon sounds infinitely worse to fight than a bunch of cultists - especially since we'd have to fight the Infernus in a smaller group."

"That's true." William mused. "Your chances against the Infernus are far slimmer than against some cultists - even high-level ones like Fergus."

Trinity nodded. "Um...if I may...my bet's on the Infernus. Like Simon said, it's aggressive, but it doesn't seem particularly malicious. In fact...I don't know if a creature like that _can_ be malicious. Even that Overseer...it was just hungry, not evil."

"Wait…" Terry asked quietly. "You're saying that you _forgave_ that fiend?"

Trinity seemed to cringe at the unwelcome memory, but nodded. "In a way, kinda. What it's taken from me makes me sad...but I can't really blame it. It's the natural order of things for things to kill in order to survive...just because it needed a meal doesn't mean it's evil, right?"

Terry was about to say that he would have hounded that thing down and slaughtered it if it had killed his parents before his eyes...but he held himself back. That might have been his way, but it wasn't Trinity's. Besides, what had his brother said about their quest not being about revenge?

Jerry coughed. "Well, I think we have enough opinions for a vote. All in favor of taking our chances with the Infernus?"

To his utter surprise, everyone in the room raised their hands.

Vincent snorted. "Well, that was easy."

William nodded. "Understood. In that case, we can start making some plans. In the meantime, feel free to rest and recuperate for the next few days. I'm certain that we can help you restock your supplies, at the least - and if you have any questions about anything, I'd be glad to answer them. However, I have no doubt that the Cult will be able to trace you guys here, and their non-aggression pact with the Nexus only goes so far. It'd be nice if you didn't overstay your visit."

The group nodded.

"Well, if that's it, then I'm going to end the call and get going." Vincent said. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to hold another video call like this, but hopefully we can meet again soon. Best of luck to you all."

William nodded again as Vincent's face abruptly vanished from the projection. "Yeah...best of luck to you too, boss."

 

The next couple of days were fairly busy. At Benjamin's request, William and his team had started looking into their weapons. Despite never having been taught by a professional magic teacher like Granberg, William's knowledge on the workings of magic was still extremely vast. However, he had deemed that their weapons didn't really need a whole lot of modification outside of some minor touch-ups. At Simon's insistence, however, he had experimented on his and Benjamin's weapons - and had results to show for it after less than a day. He had added a magical chain to Benjamin's mace, while remodeling Simon's blaster into a multi-function rifle.

To their surprise, however, William had insisted that they keep the magnetic accelerator firearms that they had started their journey with. Despite them having magical weapons now, he was convinced that they still held a lot of value.

"The Cult doesn't really know much about technology." he had explained. "In fact, I think that lunatic of a leader actually pushed a ban against using or even researching surface tech - if they didn't, we'd be having a far harder time. The only ones who refuse to adhere to said ban are Fergus and his personal knights, which makes them a lot more dangerous. However, against most cultists, pulling out your rifles in the middle of a magical skirmish will almost certainly take them off guard - especially if you've only been using magic beforehand."

Terry had recalled how he had slain the mage-knight Ellis and conceded the point. He had also spent his fair share of time in the labs doing testing - he was constantly looking for ways to give him and his peers an edge over their foes.

However, that wasn't the hardest part of their rest period. That dubious honor was reserved for counselling Trinity, who was trying her damndest to hide how broken up she was about her parents' deaths. Even if Trinity had barely known her parents during her current life, an event as devastating as that wasn't something one recovered from in a few days. She was trying to act strong, but the sadness in her eyes was as clear as day.

Terry had no idea how to make her feel better. He wasn't a counsellor - the only mind he understood was his own, and even then he sometimes had trouble. However, Trinity looked up to him as an older brother figure, or even a parental substitute - and the pressure made him quite disquieted. He was trying his best to comfort her whenever she came to him in a distraught state, but he was still mostly making things up.

Fortunately for him, his friends were willing to take care of that for him. Out of his group, Olivia and Simon were the best suited for the task - the former because of her natural empathy, the latter because he had been trained to address mental trauma. Trinity wasn't being particularly open to them, but they were still managing to address any problems the spirit had.

"It's a shame that she's so vital to our efforts." Simon had told Olivia in private. "Ideally, we'd want to give her a good amount of time to recover, and probably some proper therapy as well. But now...well, she's just going to have to suck it up, as harsh as that sounds. At least until we complete our quest."

Despite this, however, William had advised them to shake off some of the stress. It was nice that they were so determined to achieve their goal, he had said, but it was still important to relax a bit - being overly nervous inhibited fighting activity, after all.

 

Trinity yawned as she left the washroom. "Hmm...Olivia, you were right. That felt really nice!"

Seated on the bed, Olivia laughed. After Terry had offhandedly mentioned that Trinity had never actually taken a warm shower before, since spirits didn't need to, Olivia had cajoled the young spirit into trying it. Of course, there had been a number of mishaps from the sorely inexperienced child, resulting in much complaining from Terry and a lot of mopping Trinity had been forced to do. However, it was clear that Trinity had been satisfied by the new experience, and she had somehow emerged completely dry. When questioned about it, Trinity told Olivia that she had simply went intangible and watched all the water drop straight through her body.

Since his visitors obviously needed a place to live, William had reserved a living quarters for the group on the first night of their stay. It was almost like a hotel aesthetically, with several rooms connected to a main room.

Terry noticed Trinity's arrival. "Hey. How'd it go?"

Trinity nodded. "It was good! Even though I still think I don't have to worry about such things, taking a shower felt pretty nice."

"Did you make a mess out of the bathroom again?"

Trinity smiled, but couldn't help but show a mote of nervousness. "Um...no."

Terry got up and walked over to the washroom, only to nod after finding out that Trinity had told the truth. "Well, you weren't lying. Good job."

The spirit smiled at the praise, before turning towards Olivia. "What're you all gathered here for?"

Jerry answered. "Well, Olivia somehow got it into her head that she wanted to try telling a ghost story. I don't know why, but we've decided to entertain her."

"Jeez, you make that sound like it's a bad thing." Olivia complained. "I just wanted to try something new, that's all! Hell, even if it's cheesy enough to season a pizza, there's no harm in trying."

However, Trinity was shaking. "W-Wait...a ghost story?"

Everyone looked at her.

"Hold up…" Jerry murmured, "Don't tell me…"

Trinity sat down heavily and tucked her legs into her dress. "I...I don't like ghost stories. They're scary…"

Terry frowned. "Uh, Trinity? You do realize that _you're_ technically a ghost too, right?"

In response, Trinity just stuttered. "Well, I…uh..."

Benjamin chuckled. "Don't worry, kid. I'm sure our young storyteller here hasn't chosen one that's particularly convincing. You'll be fine!"

Trinity puffed up indignantly. "O-Of course I will! These stories were made to scare little kids, right? W-Well, I'm not a little kid!"

Terry opened his mouth to correct her, but shut it again.

 

_Once upon a time, there were three young brothers living in an old apartment. Their mother always told them the same story to make them go to bed - about how if they weren't asleep by midnight, an angry old poltergeist would drag them into the sky and never bring them back._

_Of course, the kids never believed her. Until one day, the kids decided to tempt fate. Ignoring their mother's warnings, they stayed up playing video games together under their sheets. As minutes became hours, the kids kept playing - until, finally, the clock struck twelve._

_As a minute passed, the oldest sibling shrugged. "See, guys? The story is fake!"_

_"Are you sure about that?"_

_The three kids froze up. "W-Who's there?"_

_In a flash, a white blur snatched the three kids up in its talons. "You should've listened, kids. Your mom was trying to warn you for a reason! Any child that's still awake when the clock strikes twelve...falls under my control! You are mine now!"_

_The kids screamed hysterically as the spectre became clearly visible - resembling an old man with a raggedy beard. In a lightning-quick motion, the spirit threw open the windows and shot towards the sky._

_"No! Stop it!" the youngest sibling screamed as they shot higher and higher. "I'm too young to die!"_

_The spirit just laughed maniacally as it looped around among the clouds, occasionally tossing and catching its victims just for laughs. The kids were scared out of their minds - they just screamed nonstop and closed their eyes, praying that the malevolent spirit wouldn't drop them._

_"I'll let you off this time, kids." the spectre growled. "But you better take this as a lesson. The next time you do this, you're not surviving the night!"_

_In the next instant, they were all lying wide awake in bed. As they blinked in confusion, the events of the last night set in. Too scared to call their mother for help, they just made a silent resolution to never stay up that late._

_The mother seemed surprised that her kids were suddenly so willing to sleep so early. But every day, she checked her mailbox for a particular item. And one day, she got it._

_A tiny note with the words "You owe me one" written on it._

 

Terry stared at her. "You're joking, right? When you said cheesy, you meant it."

Olivia just laughed and looked at Trinity, only for her grin to subside. The child looked nervous, her winter-blue eyes trained on the nearest clock.

"Umm…" Simon asked. "Was that a bit much for you?"

Trinity snapped back to reality, sitting up as tall as she could - which wasn't very tall. "N-No! That was completely fine! I'm not scared at all!"

Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?"

"Positive!"

The older girl sighed. "Well, it can't be helped, then. Let's up the ante, shall we?"

Terry shrugged. "Why not?"

Trinity tried and failed to hide the look of utter dread on her face.

 

_It was a dark summer night, and the moon's rays were filtering through the layer of clouds obscuring the stars. A warm breeze blew through the forest, carrying with it the scent of decaying foliage._

_A flashlight clasped in his hand, Jon's shoes made crunching noises as he trudged through the layer of dead twigs on the ground. Beside him, several of his colleagues kept pace with him, flashlights sweeping the area._

_"Linda, do you see anything?" Jon yelled._

_Linda shook her head. "Nope. Jeff and George haven't reported anything either. How about you, Chloe?"_

_Chloe shrugged. "Um...no? But there's something about this forest that gives me the creeps. You sure this is a good idea?"_

_Jon nodded adamantly. Earlier that day, his twin brother Jim had gone into the vast forest on a hike. Him being an indoor person, Jon had simply hung out at the nearest convenience store. However, Jim had never come back. He had immediately called the police, who had staged an investigation. Desperate to find his brother, Jon had volunteered to help with the search - and his friends had tagged along to help him._

_Chloe perked up as she heard a rapid pattering sound. "Did you hear that?"_

_Linda nodded. "Yeah. An animal, maybe?"_

_However, the trio's blood froze when they heard a bloodcurdling scream echo through the night. Linda went pale. "T-That was George's voice! I could recognize that oaf from anywhere!"_

_"Could they be in trouble?" Chloe asked. "Come on, let's find them."_

_Five minutes of frenzied sprinting later, they arrived at the source of the scream. However, the area was completely empty - devoid of all life._

_"W-What?" Chloe muttered. "Where is everyone? This is where the sound came from, right?"_

_Jon frowned as he scanned the ground, noticing that there were several handguns lying around and tentatively picking one up.  However, what caught his attention was a wide-brimmed hat sporting psychedelic designs - the same hat that Jeff always wore._

_"Uh, guys?" Jon said slowly. "Why is Jeff's hat here?"_

_Linda took deep breaths. "That's...totally not creepy at all. Chloe, are you seeing this?"_

_She trailed off. "Chloe?"_

_Their friend was nowhere to be seen._

_Jon tried and failed to steady his breathing. "C-Chloe? Where are you?"_

_Linda elbowed her partner, her hands over her mouth. "Oh gods…"_

_Looking where Linda was pointing, Jon nearly threw up on the spot. There was a trail of blood leading farther into the forest, its color indicating that it was fresh._

_"Do...you think that an animal attacked her?" Linda asked shakily._

_Jon shook his head. "No animal is that fast and that quiet. Something is fishy here - but all I know is that Chloe's evidently lost a lot of blood. Come on!"_

_As if on cue, Chloe's terrified scream echoed from the same direction of the bloodstains. "J-Jon? Linda? Help...it's dark...help!"_

_"We're on our way!" Linda roared as she and Jon sprinted towards the voice._

_They ran and ran, until the bloodstains mysteriously vanished. Jon skidded to a stop, panting. "Damn it! Chloe, where are you?"_

_"Um...Jon?" Linda whispered, her voice sounding like it was about to shatter._

_Jon looked up and nearly fainted._

_All around them, the forest seemed to warp and shift, the air taking on the appearance of greasy water. As the air took on the scent of carrion, they suddenly realized that what they were standing on weren't twigs - they were a carpet of fragmented bones, held together by visceral and fecal matter. All around them, the trees looked like horrific effigies to some demonic god - caked in dried blood, with still-bleeding viscera and severed muscular tissues strung about their branches._

_"Oh god!" Linda screamed. "What...who?"_

_Jon pulled out the handgun he had picked up from earlier. "I know someone else is here. Whatever twisted being made this...show yourself!"_

_In an instant, a dark blur swept past Linda, snatching her up. Before she could even gasp, the humanoid figure cleanly cut her trachea lengthwise with a serrated talon. Linda twitched and quickly stopped moving._

_Jon screamed in terror, raising his gun and firing several bullets at the figure, now visible as a three-meter tall, pitch-black spectre. The bullets seemed to pass right through the fiend, ricocheting off of or embedding themselves in the gore-covered trees._

_The spectre turned towards him, revealing its sickly yellow eyes and psychotic silver grin. "Bullets don't work, Jon."_

_"How...do you know my name?"_

_The fiend's grin grew monstrously large. "There was a certain someone whom I had the fortune of meeting earlier today. He was a fool to have ventured into the shadows...my domain. And as I claimed my prize...he kept calling for you to save him. Curious, isn't it?"_

_Realization set in. "You…you killed my brother! You monster!"_

_To Jon's horror, the creature opened its toothy maw and began greedily devouring Linda, with the fervor of a starving animal. "I eat, Jon. It's what I do."_

_Jon raised his gun and fired again. He kept pulling the trigger, until he had completely run out of ammo. But every shot he had fired phased right through the spectre, who grinned as they finished their meal. "What did I just say?"_

_"W-What are you?"_

_Jon backed up slowly as the monster straightened out. "You could call me a ghost, spirit, phantom, whatever floats your boat. All I know is that I'm stuck in this damn forest...and I'm always hungry. That wretched hunger...it never goes away. Fortunately, I've been blessed with lots of tools to lure suckers like you in, and even more to keep myself hidden away. Like those screams from earlier, for example. Those were me."_

_"W-What?"_

_The beast chuckled. "Never mind that. Well, welcome to my little lair. One by one, the members of this search party fell into my clutches. And now that you've seen me, you're not getting away, either - and the rest are soon to follow."_

_Jon threw down his gun and picked up what looked like a human femur. "You wretched monster! You can break my body, but you will never break my spirit!"_

_The spectre chuckled menacingly as it flashed him a maniacal smile, reaching out with its clawed hands and opening its toothy maw wider than any human was supposed to._

_"Oh, Jon...but I will."_

 

The room fell into complete silence.

"Oh...okay." Jerry said slowly. "That level of escalation was uncalled for."

Even Benjamin looked a little unnerved. "That...was exceptionally graphic. Your reading _was_ very dramatic, I'll give you that. But still...where did you find this story from?"

Olivia shrugged. "It was a part of a short story written by an author I follow. The rest of their stuff is a lot tamer, I promise. I just thought it would be sufficiently scary for you guys."

"Scary? I don't know. If you were trying to make me feel very uncomfortable, though, you got me." Simon told her.

Terry frowned. "God damn it, Olivia. Look what you did to the kid."

Olivia turned towards Trinity, only to flinch at her condition. The spirit had pulled a blanket down from the nearest bed, and had tightly wrapped it around herself. She was breathing heavily, her body occasionally sparking with white lightning. Her eyes were wide, unfocused, and were leaking a faint stream of tears.

"...Trinity?" Olivia asked, her voice wavering.

The spirit just buried her face in her blanket. "That...that horrible thing...it's not real. It's not real! It can't be!"

Olivia was mortified. "Oh, no. Trinity, I didn't mean to...I'm sorry. If I had known that you'd be like this after…"

Trinity looked up at her with pleading eyes. "Please...tell me...that thing isn't real, is it?"

Olivia shook her head. "I promise, that was just a story."

"It won't eat all of my friends?"

"Absolutely not."

"It won't lure me into a forest and rip my insides out?"

Terry frowned. "You're the one that would stand the biggest chance against another magical spirit. You'll be fine."

Apparently Terry's comment didn't help. "I...I'm proof that magical spirits exist. That means that...even if that monster isn't real...there could be a spirit like that somewhere!"

"It's. Not. Real." Terry said slowly. "Case closed. You're the only sentient spirit that exists."

Trinity took another deep breath. "That scary, murderous ghost isn't real...it can't hurt me."

However, as if on cue, a dark shape casually phased through the wall, its humanoid body trailing wisps of pitch-black vapor. Two yellow eyes stared out from its amorphous face.

The group just stared at it for all of two seconds, while it gazed back curiously.

Then Trinity screamed so loudly that she nearly shattered everyone's eardrums. Materializing her scythe, she became enveloped in blazing magic as she prepared to swing, still shrieking in sheer unadulterated fright.

"Oh my god!" Simon grunted as he grabbed Trinity by her arms, barely stopping her from cutting their room to ribbons. Meanwhile, all of the others grabbed their weapons off of their storage rack and pointed them at the entity.

However, before the situation escalated any further, William kicked open the door to their room, brandishing what looked like a ray gun. In a lightning-quick motion, he fired it at the spectre, causing it to shudder as lightning shot through its entire body. In seconds, it crumpled to the ground."

William sighed as he picked it up and slung it onto his back. "Managed to force it into a corporeal state quickly. Thank goodness. Er...sorry about the disturbance. One of our testing spirits escaped and flew off. I assure you, though, they're harmless."

Then he looked at Trinity's mentally shattered expression. "Er...was this a bad time?"

Instantly, Trinity burst into hysterical sobs and latched onto Terry. "You saw that! It was real! It...it's going to come back and eat me alive!"

"That was a completely different spirit. Calm down." Terry groaned as he tried to get Trinity off of him.

William slowly backed out of the room.

"No...no...no! It can't be real...it's not! It's not real!" Trinity wailed. "How am I going to sleep knowing that thing could show up and rip me apart?"

"Okay, for one thing, your body is indestructible. Secondly, it's not real. How many times do I have to say that?"

Trinity refused to let go. "Then that thing can just murder me over and over! Terry...please watch over me when I sleep! You can protect me...I'm sure of it!"

 _Oh my god._ Terry thought. The kid evidently needed some reassurance, but even as she was now, he wasn't willing to give up his privacy - Trinity was likely going to encroach onto his sleeping space. Looking at Olivia, he gave her a look that stated his message as clear as day. _You started this mess. Now fix it._

Olivia sighed. "Alright...Trinity, I'll sleep with you for the night. I'm sorry for scaring you so much."

Trinity let go of Terry. "Really? T-Thank you so much!"

With that, the group quickly got over the horror stories and went to bed. Surprisingly, all of them had a restful sleep - except for Olivia, since Trinity was fearfully hugging her so much that the spirit essentially had her in a choke hold for the entire night.

The things she would do for redemption.

 

_The next day…_

Surprisingly, considering the last night's shenanigans, the group woke up rested and ready to resume their mission. After checking the supply cart that Vivid Clarity had lent them, the party said goodbye to William and set off on the path to the Scorched Depths.

Unfortunately for them, Fergus and his team had been patrolling the area. The instant the mage-knights had spotted their targets, they had immediately rushed at them, weapons blazing.

Terry grunted as he raised his shield, blocking a magical lance that would have taken his head off had he reacted a second later. Glaring at him from beneath an ornate helmet, the mage-knight that had thrown the lance narrowed their eyes and raised their hand, creating another one. Before they could throw it, however, Benjamin leapt at them from behind and slammed his mace into the side of their helmet, instantly knocking them out.

From farther away, Fergus hauled back and swung, his sword unfurling into its chain-whip configuration as it shot towards Trinity. Terry leapt in front of her, raising a shield to block his attack. As Fergus attempted to pull back his weapon, Terry planted his foot on the chain's tip and used magic to bury it into the ground, willing the dirt around it to solidify. While Fergus yanked on his weapon again and again, Simon raised his magnetic rifle and fired a heavy round at terrifying velocity. Fergus barely managed to raise a shield, only for the blast to shatter it - although the bullet itself ricocheted away from him. Simon instantly followed up with a barrage of gunfire, the magnetically-accelerated round repeatedly denting Fergus' pitch-black armor.

The mage's eyes flared with violet light as he pulled a small device out of its holster. As Simon fired another heavy round, Fergus raised the device, which let out a deafening boom as it seemingly sent a violent shock wave through the air. The incoming magnetic projectile, which had likely been moving far faster than the speed of sound, stopped in its tracks and fell to the ground, still sizzling from the heat generated from the air resistance during its flight.

"What?" Simon muttered incredulously, switching his rifle to burst fire mode and unloading another storm of metal. Like the attack before it, the bullets rebounded as if striking an invisible wall, losing all of their velocity almost instantly.

"That doesn't seem like pure magic." Benjamin said. "I wouldn't be surprised if that's some kind of magnetic field generated by Fergus' powers. William said he knows a bit about their weapons, so he might have developed that as a counter. Use magic instead."

Fergus began advancing while holding up the device, only for a barrage of magical ordnance from above to force him to stop and defend. Farther away, Olivia and Jerry held their weapons high, raining down countless beams upon their foes. While the mage-knights handily blocked the attacks, it was stopping their advance.

"We're not getting out of here unless we push them back. Defending forever will do nothing." Terry growled. "Which is why I have an idea. Jerry, Olivia, Simon - focus fire so that they have to block from the front. I just need them open from above."

Jerry raised his bow. "Why?"

Terry reached into his backpack and pulled out a multitude of small metal cylinders. "William helped me out with the acid I collected from the Melter earlier - he had some in his lab, so he tried vaporizing it and cramming as much of it as possible into these pressurized containers. Trinity, I'm going to throw these while Jerry and the others distract the cultists. Once they're above our targets, I want you to slice them open."

Trinity nodded. "I'll do my best."

Reloading their battery crystals, Jerry and Olivia raised their weapons and began unleashing searing rays of light in their enemies' direction. Fergus took the first few hits, the strikes sending him reeling but failing to pierce his shielded armor. Right afterwards, however, his forces put up a frontal shield just as Terry had expected. The mage-knights formed a tight phalanx formation, maintaining their frontal shield as a number of the knights pulled out what appeared to be rifles. Soon, their magical attacks became punctuated by what sounded like heavy cannon shots from their firearms, pummeling the shield Benjamin had hastily set up around them.

"Damn it!" Simon yelled as he drew his magical blaster, firing off several explosive tracers that failed to penetrate the cultists' magic barrier. "They actually do use guns like us! They really have the best of both worlds, don't they!"

"Well, so do we." Terry grunted as he lent his defensive magic to his friends, parking himself in front of them and blocking as many attacks as he could using magical shields. However, the ferocity of the enemy barrage was already proving difficult to weather, and they were slowly advancing with every second. "Keep firing - we have to force them to maintain their frontal shield. Trinity, you're going to have to throw those. I don't know what will happen if I stop shielding."

The spirit nodded, her attention turning towards the canisters. Using her magic, Trinity lifted them all simultaneously and hurled them at the enemy. With a stroke of her scythe, she unleashed a crescent blast that struck the pressurized containers in midair, causing them to explode violently. When each canister ruptured, a massive amount of greyish gas poured out of them, rapidly descending upon the mage-knights. 

The cultists barely had time to realize what was going on before the cloud engulfed them. And their compact, tightly-knit formation had just made it easier for the attack to hit the entire group at once.

The effect was immediate. A number of the armored mage-knights stopped in their tracks and started panicking as their armor began melting away. The lighter-armored knights weren't as lucky - most of them screamed in agony and collapsed to the floor, the caustic vapor eating away at their flesh and burning their respiratory tracts when they inhaled it. Within seconds, a number of the knights had collapsed in steaming heaps on the ground.

Trinity gasped and tried to avert her eyes at the horror she had just inflicted. Terry just looked a little disturbed. "Well...that worked. Come on, this is our chance to escape."

Despite being unnerved by Terry's ruthless tactic, the party unanimously agreed. Quickly using their map to realign themselves, they took off running.

Meanwhile, the formerly organized mage-knights had dissolved into chaos. All of the ones that weren't already dead had used magical shields in an attempt to hold off the acrid gas. Holding his breath, Fergus' growled in anger as he saw his quarry turn tail and run. With an angry roar, he materialized magical bonds to extend his weapon's chain and swung, the bladed chain arcing upwards and striking a massive crystal stalactite in the cave ceiling. Using his whip as a grappling hook, Fergus yanked himself out of the acid cloud and swung towards the party, his eyes blazing with violet light.

Terry did some quick thinking. "He did that out of desperation, so he likely doesn't have much control. Simon, blast the crystal his weapon is anchored to just as he approaches the lowest point of his swing."

Simon caught his drift and nodded, raising his rifle and firing a concussive spear of light. The blast struck the crystal and shattered it instantly, causing Fergus to lose control of his swing and go flying into the dirt, tumbling to a stop. Before he could get his bearings, Benjamin swooped in and raised his mace, bringing it down on the dark knight's head as hard as he could. While his magically-reinforced armor withstood the blow, the impact was still jarring.

Just as Benjamin felt hopeful that they had at least knocked him out, Fergus reached out and leapt for Benjamin's leg. Startled, Benjamin jumped back as Fergus sprang to his feet, rapidly reeling in his lengthened weapon. Terry leapt at him, blade at the ready, only for Fergus to catch the strike with one hand - although he did seem to be struggling to hold it back. Terry grit his teeth and pushed harder, forcing Fergus back. 

Noticing his weapon still reeling in, Benjamin leapt at it and tried to disarm the knight. With a grunt, Fergus tossed Terry aside and intercepted the mace strike with his forearm, the weapon cracking the layer of magic protecting his armor.

Jerry and Olivia frantically scanned the scene, trying to line up shots, but Fergus wasn't giving them a clear opening. They settled for turning back towards the struggling remnants of Fergus' force, bombarding them with more projectiles. Simon, on the other hand, was a bit more proactive and ran in to help his comrades.

As his weapon reformed in its sword configuration, Fergus swung upwards, barely missing Benjamin's chin. The knight hauled back and prepared to swing again, only for Terry to leap in and block his strike. Benjamin retreated as Fergus unleashed a flurry attack, each strike from his heavy sword threatening to break Terry's arms.

"Trinity!" he called.

Instantly, the spirit was beside him. Raising her scythe, she parried Fergus' next strike and retaliated, her blade creating sparks as it cut into Fergus' shielding. The mage-knight took a step back and prepared to attack again, only for Trinity to race at him before he had a chance to compose himself. He took another strike to the shoulder and swung his sword at Trinity's head. Despite Trinity blocking the swing, the force still pushed her weightless form back quite a bit.

As Fergus simultaneously swung again while firing a barrage of magical arrows with his free hand, Trinity ducked under the first strike and slid between his legs. Quickly, she swung at his head, getting the blade of her scythe around his neck before pulling violently. While it failed to cut him, the sudden force toppled the black knight. As her foe fell flat on his back, Trinity flew into the air and came diving back down, charging her body and unleashing an inhumanly fast series of strikes. Her arms hurt from the repeated shock of her attacks rebounding off of Fergus' shield, but the thin layer of shimmering light encasing his jet-black armor was beginning to flake and crack.

However, to her surprise, Fergus reached to his belt with his free hand, pulling something out of a holster in the armor. Trinity gasped as she recognized the object as a handgun, instinctively blocking her face with her arms and trying to raise a shield. Fergus fired three bullets in succession - two of them were blocked by Trinity's magic barrier, but one pierced her defenses and grazed her scalp, carving a groove through her hair. Taking advantage of the spirit flinching to the sudden jolt of pain, Fergus grabbed her by the ankle, using his magically-augmented strength to crush it like glass. As it dissolved into sparks, Trinity violently flinched from the pain, giving Fergus the opportunity to swing his blade in a lethal arc that would have taken Trinity's head off had Terry not jumped in front of her. The heavy sword struck his shield, the impact forcing him backwards.

Fergus growled as he faded into dark mist, sinking into his own shadow and vanishing. He had done this before, but the party was still taken off guard by his disappearance. As they looked around frantically, Benjamin calmed himself down, using all of his senses to carefully observe his surroundings. The instant he saw one of the nearby shadows churn, he extended the chain on his mace and hurled it at the shadow. A violent shock travelled through the weapon as it struck the just-emerged Fergus cleanly in the head, sending him flying out of the shadows and onto the ground.

Just as he got to his feet, Olivia unleashed a searing ray of light that struck him in the chest, the explosive beam nearly toppling him a second time. Simon followed up with a barrage of lasers, prompting Fergus to shield himself and race towards him. Although Fergus hoped to get close enough to render Simon's blaster ineffective, he didn't account for the fact that the weapon had been modified quite a bit since their last encounter. Right as he entered melee range, Simon just pointed the blaster at him and fired a conical shotgun blast of magical lightning. The spray of energy caught the knight squarely in the chest, sending him reeling in surprise.

Simon didn't waste any time, maintaining a close distance while firing blast after blast. From behind him, Jerry and Olivia shot out storms of magical arrows, bombarding their foe from all directions. While their attacks showed no signs of causing permanent damage to Fergus, they still served the purpose of staggering him.

As Fergus raised his sword again, its edge glowing with harsh radiation, Terry raised his shield and slammed into him, providing the final push needed to knock him down yet again. As his armored visage slammed into the dirt, Benjamin raised his mace, charged it with magic, and brought it down on Fergus' neck.

Instantly, the mage-knight stiffened, his body seizing up violently. The strike didn't seem to have broken his shield or his armor, but the shock to his spine had likely been enough to temporarily paralyze him.

"I think he's down for now. Come on, now's our chance to run!" Benjamin yelled.

Following his direction, the group turned tail and ran yet again - but this time, there was nobody to stop them. All the incapacitated Fergus could do was glare at them through his mask as they ran into the caves leading to the Scorched Depths.

"Sir, are you okay?" a mage-knight asked, kneeling beside him. "Should we give chase?"

Fergus groaned. "I'll get better...and don't chase them. Where they've gone...is a place of no return. It's not worth the risk to your lives."

"But sir…"

"I'm not willing to brazenly throw you into such danger. We've already suffered many casualties from that kid's acid trick." Fergus muttered. "Damn...they knew we wouldn't be willing to chase them into that blasted place. Well, they're going to have a real fun time dealing with that dragon. Sure, it is possible for them to escape - but, I'd be very impressed if they do."

The knight nodded. "As you say, sir."

 

Trinity panted lightly as she clambered through the claustrophobic caves, squeezing her body through the tight passageways. The moment Simon revealed that the best route to take was a cramped one, she had tried to cheat by going intangible and phasing through the caves. Unfortunately, her intangibility only seemed to work on things with zero magical concentration, rendering her ability useless in the underground.

The others had it worse. Not only were they carrying more supplies, their bodies were considerably larger than the small child leading their advance. Terry had already gotten so annoyed that he was carving away the edges of the tunnels - as quietly as possible, of course.

"How far are we through this place?" Simon groaned. "I don't like these tunnels, and I especially don't like the feeling that we're going to get ambushed."

Terry consulted his map. "Almost halfway there. And yeah...I have that feeling too. Like that dragon could pop up and blow us all up any second."

Olivia shrugged. "Well, we _are_ invading the territory of a giant dragon that can supposedly induce explosions at will. I'd be concerned if you _weren't_ uneasy."

Trinity's voice drifted from up ahead. "Uh...guys?"

All of them froze.

"Trinity...what's wrong?" Terry slowly mouthed.

His question was answered when Trinity screamed and leapt backwards, a gout of flames soaring over her head and instantly evaporating all the water in the air. Through the smog, the rest of the group could see several quadrupedal shadows slinking towards them, their eyes and throats glowing with bright orange flame.

"Flame Stalkers? Here?" Terry yelled as he got in front of his comrades, deploying a frontal shield. "Are you kidding me?"

"Hey, the book did say that they live in caves and eat minerals!" Olivia yelled back. "Guess where we are now?"

The Stalkers roared, unleashing another fusillade of molten rock that thankfully burst against Terry's barrier instead of their bodies. Noticing their ineffectiveness, the reptilian beasts hissed as they seemed to suck in all of the surrounding air.

Benjamin recalled something he had read about them. "Terry, be careful!"

With a high-pitched whine, the Flame Stalkers shot out countless blasts of bright purple light. Upon contact with Terry's shield, they exploded violently, the sound nearly shattering Terry's eardrums despite the shield already muffling the sound. Several wayward blasts struck the rock walls, blowing them apart.

"What the hell was that?" Terry hissed. "If that dragon didn't hear us yet, it's definitely heard us now!"

"Apparently those things can synthesize hydrocarbons, and use them to make what amount to explosive charges." Benjamin recalled, gritting his teeth as the Stalkers launched another barrage. "I don't know, blame that Archon guy for giving these things magic!"

Trinity tried to attack, but swinging her scythe was difficult in the cramped space. "Does anyone have an idea to kill these things quickly?"

Simon nodded. "I do. Kid, back off!"

Trinity ducked behind Terry's barrier as Simon raised his magic rifle. Taking careful aim, he shot weak blasts at the creatures, weakening their shells. Once he saw one's shell crack to the point where he could see volcanic light shining through the fractures, he switched targets.

"What are you doing?" Jerry yelled as the creatures unleashed another explosive barrage. "Terry's shield is weakening!"

Simon ignored him and counted the number of foes he had shot at. "Okay, that should be enough. Benjamin, reinforce your brother's shield!"

As he took aim at the nearest Stalker, Benjamin realized what he was about to do. "Everyone, brace for impact!"

Simon let loose with a crystalline blast of light, which struck his target and shattered its metallic hide like porcelain. Instantly, the fire burning within the Flame Stalker burst out from its ruptured shell with the force of a small bomb. The explosion ripped open the weakened shells of its comrades, which exploded and did the same to their allies. With that one blast, Simon had set off a dangerous chain reaction.

Within the next second, a massive explosion blasted the cavern to rubble. The party screamed as the point-blank blast ripped through their defenses, sending them hurtling out of the gaping hole where the cave wall used to be. Fortunately, Terry and Benjamin's shields seemed to have absorbed the brunt of the impact, since none of them were significantly injured.

As smoke poured out of what was once the cavern, Terry got to his feet. "Simon, what went through your mind when you came up with that?"

Simon panted. "Well...the truth is that we're explorers now. And any explorer worth their salt has got to be resourceful, right?"

Benjamin sighed. "As much as I hate to admit it, his strategy seemed to have worked. But now…"

He trailed off as he gazed around. They were now in a seemingly endless expanse of barren hills, which seemed to be made of ash instead of dirt. The air seemed hard to breathe, and the scent of fire seemed to linger within it. Burned trees dotted the field sporadically, ominous monoliths punctuating the monotony of the landscape. 

"So much for stealth." Terry groaned. "What now?"

"Uh…" Trinity said slowly. "Guys?"

All of them turned around, only to see that several Flame Stalkers had survived the explosion. Their mineralized armor was cracked in several places, but they still advanced on the group, menacing them as flames licked from their jaws.

"Those things survived?" Simon said incredulously. "Well, there are only a few left. Let's dispatch them quickly."

"No…" Trinity whispered as a terrific roar echoed through the area. "I meant that thing, over there."

The group froze in their tracks as the Infernus itself stomped into the fray, looking almost exactly as its picture had depicted it save for the fact that it seemed _far_ larger. The skeletal dragon's dark bones sparked with fire as its six eyes hungrily surveyed the area. Then, it threw back its head, opened its tripartite jaw, and let out another ear-splitting roar, volcanic flames wreathing its entire body.

Trinity summed up all of their thoughts in one phrase. "Oh, no."

The Flame Stalkers hissed, taking deep breaths and spewing a cascade of molten rock at the newcomer. While the explosive missiles seemed to cause the Infernus harm, the dragon just roared again, its three barbed tails pointing towards its attackers. There were three clicks, three whines, three explosions - and the Stalkers were gone, reduced to mineralized shards from the Infernus' attack.

Then the dragon turned towards the party.

Trinity gripped her scythe, only for Terry to mouth his objection. Lowering it hesitantly, she stared the creature in its six eyes and braced herself. That thing looked like some kind of demon from the underworld, and seemed to have power befitting of one...but their objective was to bypass it peacefully. Attacking it wouldn't help.

However, the Infernus narrowed its eyes. Plunging its tails into the ground, it let out a harsh whine as molten fissures shot towards the party.

"Split up and run for it!" Benjamin yelled as he jumped away.

The rest of the group did as he said, just as the fissures erupted into gigantic pillars of flame that seemed to burn away the air itself. Noticing its targets splitting up, the Infernus roared, its once-concealed fiery wings bursting to life as it took to the air. Hovering in place, the dragon locked onto Terry - the one closest to it - and pointed its tails at him, their tips glowing again.

Terry barely had time to wrap himself in magic before the tail pointed at him and flashed, emitting a loud snap followed by a high-pitched whine. Almost instantly, the ground beneath him exploded violently, sending him hurtling into the air. As he landed on his back, Terry quickly got up and took off as the Infernus triggered two more explosions. They barely missed him, showering him in ashen debris.

Just as the Infernus was about to launch another attack, Olivia shot a flare upwards to draw its attention. However, instead of triggering blasts beneath her, the Infernus made a jabbing motion with its tails, sending three chains of explosions snaking towards her. Olivia put up a shield, only for the fiery serpents to strike her barrier and shatter it instantly, completely draining her weapon's power. As she turned to reload her staff, the Infernus arranged its tails into a triangular formation. All three of them clicked simultaneously - just as Olivia loaded her next crystal and procured another shield. And just in time - the ground beneath her erupted into an inferno that sent her skyward. As she flew away and skidded along the ground, the impact nearly knocked her out cold.

"Can we fight back now?" Jerry asked urgently as he picked up the dazed Olivia. "That thing's explosions are ripping through our defensive measures!"

Trinity ran past him. "But we can't get close to that thing with its explosion creation! Attacking will probably just make things worse!"

Simon decided to take action regardless, aiming his weapon at the creature and trying to maneuver within optimal firing range. However, the Infernus spotted him in its peripheral vision, blocking his path with a well-placed explosion. As Simon decided to fire from where he was, the Infernus' tails released a myriad of flashes as the ground around Simon erupted into a cataclysmic firestorm. The group feared the worst after that detonation, but Simon had shielded himself beforehand. The blast had given him a number of superficial burns, but he was otherwise fine as he fled.

Benjamin analyzed the Infernus as it roared again, but made no attempt to fire on them. Noticing that they had were now a good distance from the beast, he breathed a sigh. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it seems willing to ignore us now that we've gone a bit further. I think it should be safe to just keep moving forward."

Jerry looked like he was about to object, but begrudgingly agreed. "Sure, if you say so. In the face of such power...I don't know what else we can do."

 

Surprisingly, Benjamin's hypothesis was correct. For the next hour or two, as the group recovered and traversed the Scorched Depths, the Infernus didn't bother them at all. Of course, that didn't mean that it was friendly. Throughout that entire duration, the Infernus had maintained a distance of maybe sixty meters from them, hissing and glaring as its tails writhed behind it, ready to launch another lethal assault at a moment's notice. Needless to say, if it was trying to be menacing, it was succeeding.

"I don't like the way that thing's eyeing us." Jerry muttered.

Terry shrugged. "What do you want to do about it? If we fight it, it's probably going to kill us all."

Jerry grumbled and conceded the point.

The group continued their march through the ashen land - and bit by bit, they came closer to their destination. However, as they drew within a few kilometers of their destination, Trinity pointed into the distance. "Hey, what's that?"

Terry squinted at the area that Trinity was pointing at, noticing that the area was different from the rest of the ashen landscape. Instead of the flat hills that dominated most of the cavern, before them was a shallow pit which was partially flooded with what appeared to be cooling magma. The bottom of the pit was dotted with what appeared to be flaming geysers, and the air seemed warped by the heat distortion from said geysers. Gouts of fire, smoke, and magma constantly belched out of the vents. And in the middle of it all…

"What is that?" Trinity asked.

Simon pulled out a pair of binoculars and squinted at the object. It was a football-shaped spheroid bit at least two meters in diameter. While half of it seemed to be covered in a black, rocky shell, the object seemed to be made of orange crystal. Simon wasn't sure if it was just the heat distortion, but the object seemed to be pulsating with light, the steady flashes almost like a heartbeat.

He took a step towards it. "Hold on...could that be…"

A deafening roar cut him off as a dark shadow soared over his head. One crash later, and the Infernus loomed over him, its eyes brimming with fury.

Simon didn't even have time to respond as the Infernus lowered its head and headbutted him with enough force to send him flying. As Simon landed heavily beside a stunned Benjamin, the ashen dragon unfurled its tails and pointed them at the party.

Terry flinched. "Everyone, group up and create a shared barrier!"

The group did as he asked, just as the Infernus triggered a rapid-fire series of explosions under their feet. The sound was deafening, but the shield held - even as the lights of their weapons went out, one by one.

"Damn it." Benjamin growled as the group switched out their battery crystals. "That thing's attacks drain our power so quickly!"

"And it seems angrier!" Olivia yelled, using magic to shove the group aside as the Infernus nearly blew them apart with a chain of explosions. "What's gotten into it?"

"It's obviously trying to protect whatever's in that pit!" Simon yelled as he ran away from the group to divert the dragon's attention. "What could that thing be?"

With a roar, the Infernus divided its targeting - two tails on the main group, one on the fleeing Simon - and unleashed another flurry. Simon found himself blasted away by several explosive chains, while the rest of the group frantically unloaded and reloaded their weapons as the blasts practically liquefied their shields.

"Okay, you know what?" Benjamin panted. "Just attack the thing! We need to get it off of us for at least a moment!"

Simon, Olivia, and Jerry nodded, raising their weapons and firing a barrage of magical missiles that soared towards the Infernus. For all of its unstoppable offensive power, the Infernus didn't have anything in the way of defense. It took the attacks head-on, each blast spalling off a small piece of its skeletal body. Sparks raining from its injuries, the Infernus let out a whine and faltered.

"That's more like it!" Benjamin yelled as the group kept pressuring it with magical artillery. "I doubt we can stop it for long, so it's time to get the hell out of here!"

Simon exerted magic on a nearby tree, uprooting it and hurling it at the Infernus before running. The Infernus responded by simply touching the tree with one of its tails, causing it to flash and explode violently.

"That...thing...can detonate whatever it touches?" Olivia panted while running. "We can't even let it so much as touch us with those tails!"

"Not that it was going to let us get close anyways!" Jerry yelled back.

To Benjamin's surprise, the Infernus roared and barreled towards them while they fled. "What the hell? It seemed fine with leaving us be when we fled before…"

Trinity thought about it as she ran. _It has to be that glowing thing in the pit. Whatever that is, it seems willing to go the extra mile to protect it. Now that it thinks we're a threat to it, it's going to try and finish us._

The Infernus roared again, its tails flashing as it triggered detonation after detonation. Even from that distance, its attacks didn't lose any power, while retaining a similar level of accuracy. Terry was forced to frantically maintain his shields as the creature threatened to blow them to ashes again and again.

"Terry, I have an idea." Trinity panted.

Terry grunted and switched out his crystal again. "Well, it better work. We're running out of steam, and we'll be running out of crystals too if this keeps up."

"I'm going to go up to that thing and prove we don't want to go after it."

Terry blanched. "What?"

The spirit gave the raging dragon a determined look. "I'm pretty sure it's identified us as a genuine threat now, which means that it'll probably try and kill us no matter how far we run from it. And we can't fight it either - which means that we just have to convince it that we aren't after it or whatever it's protecting."

"But what about you?" Olivia asked. "Your reasoning seems sound, but you said that you were going to approach the Infernus to do this - you know, the giant explosion-spamming dragon that blows apart just about anything?"

Jerry thought about that. "Well, she kind of has a point when she said that _she'd_ do it. Her safety is linked to her core crystal - anything that happens to her body is a temporary setback at most. If we stay close enough to her while staying out of danger, she has the highest chance of weathering the storm and getting through to the Infernus."

"She still feels pain, though!" Olivia protested. "Even if she's effectively immortal, if she's blown apart, I can't imagine how much that would hurt…"

Terry just shook his head as Jerry shot her a look. "You have a point, but if there's anyone that can pull this off, it's Trinity. Would you rather let the Infernus kill us all?"

Trinity just nodded. "Because I won't."

Olivia opened her mouth, then closed it again.

As Trinity prepared for her mission, Terry turned towards her. "Although, I'm going to be fair - this is _your_ choice. Do you want to do this?"

Trinity nodded again.

Terry smiled. "Well, that's all we need. Good luck, kid."

 

Simon and Benjamin combined their magic, raising a wall of stone and ash to block the advancing dragon. "This'll hold it off for a few more seconds! Trinity, get into position! Everyone else, run!"

As they did just that, Trinity stood firm as several explosions rocked the area - but failed to penetrate the hasty blockade that they had constructed. In reality, Trinity could barely feel anything over her heart pounding in her chest, but she had made this choice. To save everyone else, Trinity was more than willing to take this leap.

There was the sound of crunching rock as the Infernus dug its tails into the wall, infusing it with its ruinous fire magic. Then, there was a clicking noise as the wall detonated, sending a shower of ash and rocks raining over Trinity. As the young spirit raised her hands in an attempt to block the debris, an ear-splitting roar echoed from within the ashes. One leap later, and the Infernus towered over her - a downright demonic colossus of ash, fire, and death.

Trinity gulped as the Infernus' six eyes glared at her from within its horned skull, each one nearly the size of her head. With a terrible, whining roar, it extended its tails and thrust them towards her.

In response, Trinity looked up at the beast and spread her hands in a welcoming gesture.

She feared the worst, but the Infernus sensed something was off. It stopped its tails before they could blow Trinity to kingdom come, each shimmering tip mere centimeters from her head.

Trinity breathed a sigh of relief as the Infernus glared at her again. Backing off a bit, it rose to its full height and flared out its massive wings, instantly raising the temperature in the area by at least ten degrees as embers danced through the air. If this was an intimidation tactic, it was definitely working on Trinity - but she refused to budge.

As the Infernus shook its head in confusion, Trinity forced herself to stay calm. Sitting down cross-legged in front of the Infernus, she started gently speaking to the dragon. "I'm not your enemy. I don't want a fight. I just want to talk, for now."

She knew that the dragon was unlikely to understand her, but she was still hoping the sound of her voice would still have an effect on it.

The dragon let out a confused whine as it tried pushing Trinity out of the way with its claws. The spirit put up no resistance as she was pushed around - but that only confused the Infernus more. "You see, I can't do anything to you. I'm not a threat."

Snarling, the skeletal dragon backed up again, the fury in its eyes slowly being replaced by curiosity. The fire in its wings vanished, and the volcanic glow within its bones started waning.

Trinity gave it a reassuring smile and stood up, letting out an involuntary pulse of magic - only for the skittish dragon to snarl at the sudden flash of light. Realizing that it might be able to sense magic, Trinity sighed and willed the magic within herself to dissipate. Standing before the beast, Trinity had temporarily disabled her powers as a magical spirit - in that moment, she was just as vulnerable as any young human girl.

The Infernus made a repeated pecking sound as it inspected the spirit, now unable to see any dangerous levels of magic coming off of it. Lowering its head, it bumped Trinity with its snout - which was enough force to topple the restrained spirit. Getting back up, Trinity raised her hands as if to beckon to the beast. "I can't hurt you, so please don't hurt me or my friends."

To her surprise, the Infernus seemed to reach an understanding. Pacing around Trinity, its eyes surveyed her cautiously - but the murderous intent that had once burned within them seemed to have vanished. Hesitantly, Trinity reached towards the beast again - and the Infernus gently lowered its head, letting it touch its snout. For such a fiery beast, its body radiated with a gentle warmth.

Trinity smiled. _Well, it's at least become non-aggressive towards me. I knew that even such a fearsome creature didn't have to be evil._

Noticing a tugging sensation on her form, she motioned towards the place where her companions were hiding. _You need to get a bit closer._

Sighing in relief at their friend's safety, the rest of the group got up and headed towards Trinity - only to realize their mistake mere seconds later. At the sight of them, the Infernus' pupils narrowed as it let out a terrible scream, tails undulating rhythmically as it lit up with volcanic light again.

"Uh oh." Olivia whispered. "Looks like we've just wasted her efforts."

Trinity was nearly cooked from its body heat alone, but her mind still scrambled for a plan to save her friends from their imminent incineration. Just as she came up with one, the Infernus lowered its tails and prepared to fire - right as Trinity jumped in front of it. "Don't hurt them!"

Hesitating for the briefest of moments, the Infernus' aim faltered. Instead of triggering lethal blasts underneath its targets, it triggered a weaker one underneath Trinity.

As the spirit was engulfed in flames, the group feared the worst - but Trinity had reactivated her magic just in time. Once the flames subsided, Trinity gasped as she dropped to one knee, pale sparks pouring from nearly every part of her body. Weakened as the blast was, it had still severely damaged her - her skin and dress were scorched, ashen shrapnel had ripped through her body, and one of her arms had nearly been blasted off.

The party gasped. If that had been anyone else, they very well may have been instantly killed. But since it was Trinity, she had survived - although she felt it just like any other person.

Nearly blinded by the agony, Trinity was hyperventilating as she rolled around in a feeble attempt to dull the pain. For a second, the Infernus seemed to feel a twinge of regret as it let out a dull snarl. However, then it noticed the others standing in front of it and roared again, wings flaring to life.

With a wave of her remaining hand, the wounded Trinity used magic and stopped the group in their tracks. As they strained against the spirit's surprising strength, Trinity looked up at the Infernus. "They don't want to hurt you. And even...if you don't believe me…"

She grit her teeth and exerted more magic, ignoring the intensifying pain wracking her body. "I...as long as I'm here...they can't touch you. I...can control them."

The words left a bitter taste in her mouth. Trinity looked to the group, expecting looks of disbelief or anger now that she had not only turned her power on them, but was treating them like her enemies. However, not only did the group catch on and let themselves get pulled to their knees by Trinity's weakening magic, giving the impression that they were bowing to her, Terry even shot her a smile. _That's some quick thinking on your part. Nice job._

Trinity got the message and let out another pulse, pushing her allies back. The Infernus tilted its head curiously as Trinity stared at them as authoritatively as she could. "Put down your weapons! I...uh...command you to stand down!"

The group sheathed their weapons, and Trinity released her hold - before instantly collapsing in a glowering heap. She had managed to temporarily ignore her grievous wounds, but they were still there - and she couldn't regenerate such severe damage instantly. But to her surprise, the Infernus scooped her body up in its front claws and brought her to eye level, as if it was concerned for her.

Noticing the creature's lessened hostility, the rest of the group slowly advanced on it, hands in the air to show that they were unarmed. The Infernus registered their advance, but didn't do anything after Trinity's assertion of dominance. Its thoughts were clear - to some extent, it trusted Trinity, and now that it thought that Trinity was some kind of alpha, it didn't have to worry about the rest of the group.

Trinity stared the Infernus in the eyes as her wounds slowly started closing. "Thank you. I knew you couldn't have been so bad inside."

As the Infernus gently put her down, Simon ran up to her. "That was an unbelievable stunt you pulled there, kid. Major props to you!"

"You did really well, Trinity." Terry added. "Thank you."

Trinity just smiled weakly. "It was all worth it to placate the Infernus. It's not going to completely trust any of us, but I think it'll still let us pass through this area." Looking back at the Infernus, she tried talking to it again. "You'll let us through here, right?"

As if to reiterate her point, the Infernus emitted a low warble as it backed up a bit, its gaze cautious but benign. Slowly, the group walked past it, never breaking eye contact with the massive dragon. Sure enough, it made no attempt to attack them, not even as they got farther and farther away.

Simon breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness Trinity's a quick thinker. That plan of yours saved us all."

"Um…" Trinity said slowly. "It still felt kind of weird. No hard feelings, right?"

"Hard feelings?" Terry asked. "If anything, I admire your pragmatism."

As Trinity nodded gratefully, Simon spoke up again. "Also, while you were negotiation with that dragon, I used some binoculars to figure out why that thing was being so aggressive. It-"

"It has to do with that glowing thing down there, right?" Jerry asked. "Well, did you find out what it was?"

"It's an egg."

"...What?"

Simon nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes. The constant pulsating like a beating heart was the first giveaway that it was something living. Then, when I looked closer, I saw something inside of that thing. It was a dark shape that looked like a draconic skeleton, and it was _moving."_

Terry thought about that. "Wait, that makes perfect sense. William did mention that it had suddenly gotten more aggressive as of late."

Olivia's jaw dropped. "So what you're saying...is that the Infernus is a…"

"Parent, yeah." Simon replied. "Not going to assume its gender, but it's trying to protect its unborn child. That's why it suddenly got so upset when we got close to it. Honestly, now that I know that, I'm surprised Trinity was even able to pacify it."

"See?" Trinity said. "It only had the best intentions!"

Benjamin let out a chuckle. "Well, I guess that explains a lot. Well, at least now we can get out of the rift in one piece...hopefully."

Looking back at the Infernus, they saw the dragon give them a final look and retreat back to the molten pit that it was trying to defend. Despite the fragility of their ceasefire, Trinity couldn't help but wave to it.

 

About one minute later, however, Benjamin halted the group. "Hey...do you hear something?"

All of them stopped moving as Benjamin cupped his hands around his ears. It could have just been the ambience of the wind blowing through the Scorched Depths, but he was certain that it was something else. It didn't sound like wind...it sounded like crumbling rocks.

"Stay behind me!" Benjamin yelled, raising his mace as he regretted the words he had spoken just a moment ago. "That sound is coming from that cave wall!"

"I hear it too!" Olivia replied. "Wait, but it's coming from somewhere else!"

Benjamin faltered as he heard the sound's source spin around them. "What? That's probably a moving creature then! We have to-"

He was cut off as a nearby cliff face exploded, sending a shower of debris hurtling towards the group. While Terry managed to deflect the shower, he was just as shocked as everyone else. "What? Could it be a cult attack?"

However, once the dust cleared, all of their hearts sank as one. In the dark hole created within the cavern wall, a single purple eye glared out of the void.

 

For a moment, everyone just stared at the giant eyeball. Noticing them, the eyeball stared back.

Then, it noticed Trinity. Pupil narrowing, the Overseer let out a warbling shriek - one that the group had hoped they would never hear again.

"Oh, no no no." Simon muttered. "That thing's back? How did it track us here?"

"It didn't notice us at first!" Terry shouted. "It probably wasn't tracking us specifically...just our luck."

Trinity grit her teeth, willing her scythe to appear in her hands. Now that she was face-to-face with her parents' murderer again, she could feel adrenaline coursing through her body. But at the same time, her heart was gripped by cold fear. She knew what that thing was capable of...could they actually defeat it?

The Overseer's eye flashed as a swarm of tentacles slithered out of the hole it had made. Then, it sent half of those tentacles snaking towards its targets, their thorned tips glowing with violet light. Benjamin hastily raised a shield to block the tentacles, only for them to work together and pry the barrier open. Fortunately, Simon let loose with several shotgun blasts of magic before the tentacles could impale any of them.

Simultaneously, the other half of the tendrils sparked and opened fire, unloading a wide-area bombardment of laser fire. In response, the group raised personal shields and ducked for cover, the rain of lasers perforating the ashen ground. All of them noticed that the damage to their shields was extremely small compared to what the Infernus had inflicted - but the lasers were still doing a number on them regardless.

"Do we fight, or do we run?" Simon asked urgently as he reloaded his gun, watching as the Overseer began spreading its influence over the area. "I'm not sure about our chances in a fight, but running seems like an even worse idea."

In response, the Overseer's eye flashed as it shaped several more tentacles from the ash and dead trees around it. Then, in a lightning-quick motion, it sent them flying straight at Terry. Benjamin moved in to shield his brother, but the Overseer blasted his shield apart during the moment of its formation with a well-timed laser beam. As Benjamin unlocked his mace and sent the chained head hurtling at the abomination, the Overseer activated its future vision, deftly avoiding the strike. Dodging Benjamin's next two swings, it lashed out with two tentacles, aiming for where Benjamin would be in the next second. Sure enough, the tentacles cornered him as a third one sprung up to impale him - however, Trinity blunted her scythe and hooked it around his torso, pulling him out of the way. It might have been able to predict all of Benjamin's movements, but it could predict his actions and his alone.

"Thanks, kid." Benjamin said, retracting his mace and crushing the next few tentacles that flew his way. "I forgot how terrifying the ability to see your enemy's next actions is."

The Overseer put up a writhing wall of tentacles as Simon unleashed a magic missile, Olivia and Jerry backing him up with dazzling rays of light. The blasts struck the tentacles, which put up some resistance before being blasted apart. However, the instant that its wall went down, the Overseer unleashed a searing blast from its eye, which forced the ranged attackers to scatter.

"I have another idea." Trinity proposed. "I'll go all-in on it, and hopefully force it to use its future vision. Then, the rest of you hammer away at it."

Terry nodded. "I wish you'd stop voluntarily putting yourself in danger, but I'd say go for it."

"Hey, as long as I can't die, I can do whatever I need to."

With that, Trinity rushed into the fray, scythe at the ready. The Overseer noticed her brazen attack and sent a tangled rush of tentacles hurtling towards her. Soaring through the air, she diced up the first of them before weaving between several others. As they began firing lasers, she created a personal barrier and blocked the shots while swinging, miraculously cutting a few of them out of the air with her scythe. Raising her scythe as she came within twenty meters of the fuchsia eyeball, she saw the crystalline eye begin pulsing with tell-tale patterns of light. "It's activated it! Go!"

The rest of her team sprung into action, unleashing a hail of magical ordnance as Trinity bore down on her target. The Overseer responded by encasing itself and Trinity in a sphere of tentacles, cutting them off from the rest of the fighters. As it predicted Trinity's sudden dash to the left and struck her barrier with a series of fierce blows, there was a rumbling as its tentacle barrier was blasted to shreds. The Overseer backed up and created more tentacles, but it was forced to take several blasts to the eye.

"We hit it!" Olivia yelled. "Let's keep it up!"

However, once it realized that it was unable to fully split its attention among the incoming threats, the Overseer made the decision to go all-out. Its eye glowing like a supernova, the Overseer activated its future vision again - and this time, it focused it on all of its foes at once. Its vision was instantly filled with violet projections - but a creature as smart as the Overseer could handily tell which ones belonged to which foe.

Within the span of the next few seconds, the Overseer turned the fight completely on its head. Avoiding or blocking every single attack that came its way, while launching attacks seconds in advance, it handily took on all six fighters at once. Simon was the first to get ensnared by the tentacles, struggling to prevent them from crushing him. Then, two more knocked the wind out of Jerry and Terry, nearly impaling them. Olivia and Benjamin were pinned in a corner to fend off attacks from all directions, and Trinity bit the dirt as her ankle was ensnared by another tendril.

"What the hell?" Olivia panted while frantically blasting apart the incoming tentacles. "I thought that its future vision only worked on one thing at a time!"

"Well, I thought so too!" Benjamin yelled back. "But there has to be a reason it doesn't do this all the time. See, look at it now."

Sure enough, the Overseer let out a low rumble as it sank closer to the ground. All of its attacks slowed, and the captured fighters were able to wriggle out of its grasp. It was clear that the Overseer had expended an immense amount of energy to pull that off, but the party was also injured from its assault.

Unfortunately, the Overseer recovered quickly - and it still remembered information from their last encounter. Dark rifts formed around the dazed Terry as tentacles burst from the earth, lashing out at him. But they didn't go for him - they went for his backpack.

"That...thing...is still after Trinity's core crystal!" Terry yelled, grabbing onto it and pulling it close to his body. He tried to get up and fight, only to collapse in a panting heap. Simon attempted the same thing, but his body felt like it had been put through a trash compactor. Pulling out his blaster, he fired several shots at the tentacles, only to hear the whine of his battery crystal dying.

Trinity leapt at her crystal, snatching it away just as the Overseer pried it from Terry's grasp. In response, the Overseer lashed out again, wrapping thinner tentacles around each of her limbs and pulling - but Trinity refused to let go of her lifeline, even as the beast's strength threatened to pull her body apart. However, the Overseer's eye flashed as it tentatively placed a tentacle on her hand, forcing a surge of purple lightning straight into her core crystal.

Trinity instantly let out a shrill scream as her whole body became wracked with overwhelming pain, the magical shock seemingly frying every nerve in her body. Through teary eyes, she noticed her grip on the crystal involuntarily loosening. As the Overseer's pupil widened in triumph, Trinity feebly tried to put up any form of resistance as panic overtook her heart. "No...it can't end yet! I don't want to let the world die! I don't want...I don't wanna die!"

"Trinity!" Olivia yelled as she and Benjamin raced towards her.

However, what Trinity got wasn't assistance from her two friends, nor was it a painful death from the Overseer's sinister rays.

What she got was a dark shape soaring over her head, violently crushing the tentacles that ensnared her. The shock wave from the creature landing sent both Trinity and her crystal flying away - the former landed in Olivia's arms, while the latter was caught by Benjamin.

As the smoke cleared, the team gaped as the Overseer' narrowed its eye.

Standing before them was none other than the Infernus.

 

Terry summed up their thoughts in one word. "What."

"It came back?" Simon asked incredulously.

Olivia scrambled away, carrying the dazed Trinity in her arms. "Well, the Overseer _was_ trespassing on its territory, I guess. It'd make sense that it wants to drive it off."

As the creature glanced back at Trinity, she couldn't help but let out a quiet laugh. Even if the dragon was only defending its home and egg, in her heart she believed that it had appeared to protect her.

She kept the thought to herself though. If she told Terry, he'd probably shake his head in disappointment.

The Infernus let out an ear-splitting roar, flaring out its wings and rising to its full height. In response, the Overseer's pupil dilated as it gathered its tentacles around itself, flaring them out to make itself seem as large as possible. They were clearly trying to intimidate the other into backing off non-violently - both beasts seemed to acknowledge the other's strength, and they both knew that a fight was in neither of their best interests.

However, the Overseer's gaze shifted into the distance, where it saw a bizarre object nestled in a burning pit. It had no idea what it was, but it could sense concentrated amounts of magic within it. Whatever it was before, it was food now - it might even be more nourishing than the crystal it was trying to get before.

The Infernus noticed where its gaze was pointed at, put two and two together, and literally went ballistic. As its skeletal body erupted with volcanic flames which seemed to burn away the air itself, its jaw split apart as it let out an even fiercer roar than before.

In response, the Overseer poised its tentacles in a combative formation before activating its future vision again - only to visibly recoil as it realized what the Overseer was capable of. Raising a barrier of tentacles in front of it, the dark beast was barely able to ward off the colossal explosion the Infernus triggered.

The Infernus roared and advanced, its heavy footfalls leaving scorching indentations in the ground. Pointing its tails at the floating eyeball again, it unleashed several chains of explosions - ones that the Overseer countered with its own tendrils. As the surrounding ash and dirt started coalescing into more tendrils, the Overseer sent several spiked appendages hurtling towards the dragon, as several more began firing scorching beams of light. A single touch from the Infernus was enough to detonate all of the incoming tentacles, but it failed to block all of the lasers, the barrage perforating its skeletal body. Letting out a bestial grunt, it aimed beneath its foe and let out a series of clicks. The Overseer barely had time to block as the ground erupted into a shower of fire and debris, blasting its tentacles to shreds. When the smoke cleared, the Overseer's eyeball was seared and cracked in several places.

The two beasts stared each other down. It was a rare occasion that either of them would meet a creature capable of matching their strength. Both of their minds worked to analyze their foe, totally ignorant of the humans gaping at them.

The Infernus knew that the Overseer had an overwhelming number of tentacles and could just create more at will, in addition to possessing incredible intelligence. However, it believed that it could blow them apart as fast as it could create them, and it would only take one good shot to its eye to end it for good. Getting to its eye would be difficult, but its explosive firepower had never failed it before.

The Overseer knew that the Infernus had overwhelmingly high firepower, and seemed to be able to use it constantly. However, it believed it could still overwhelm the dragon with its endless stream of tentacles in combination with its superior intellect, and it had already identified from the distribution of magic in its body that its vital point was in its armored skull. The hard part would be driving its tentacles into that armored skull.

"Uh, guys?" Benjamin said slowly, snapping them back to reality. "Maybe we should stop admiring these guys and run for it."

Silently, the group returned to reality and nodded, backing away.

Just as they stopped backing up and started running for their lives, the Infernus made the first move. Roaring, it raised its tails and charged at its foe, enveloping itself in a shroud of constant detonations. The Overseer sent several tentacles at its enemy, only for the dragon's impromptu shield to rip through them instantly. Then, the Infernus unleashed an array of explosions around the Overseer, forcing it to curl its tentacles around itself to protect its eyeball. Right after the explosions subsided, however, the Overseer recovered and sent several tentacles into dark rifts, making them erupt from beneath the Infernus where it was exposed. This caught the dragon off guard, allowing the Overseer to bind its tails with one of its tentacles. It figured that if the Infernus couldn't aim its tails properly, it wouldn't be able to use its explosion powers.

The ashen dragon bellowed, rushing at the Overseer and grappling its tentacles with its claws. To the giant eyeball's surprise, however, its raw strength was far more than it had anticipated - the Infernus was actually able to push back the tentacles. Roaring, its tripartite jaw snapped at the dry appendages, shredding them.

The Overseer backed up and let its tentacles do the work, before noticing the humans from before fleeing the scene. Narrowing its pupil, it created several more tentacles and launched them towards its fleeing prey - only for the Infernus to swing its bound tails at it, touching them and causing them to combust. It tried it again, and the Infernus leapt up and snapped the tentacles out of the air.

Trinity stared at it. _Is it...protecting us?_

But there was no time for that. As angered screeches tore through the air and explosions shook the earth, the group ran as fast as their legs could carry them. Fortunately for them, both beasts were too preoccupied to chase them down - not even the Overseer could spare a moment of weakness against something like the Infernus.

When they dashed through the exit to the Scorched Depths, the last thing they saw was the Overseer slamming the Infernus into a cave wall, only for the dragon to propel itself like a living rocket and abruptly reverse its direction. Both titans clashed again in a shower of writhing tentacles and fiery plumes, two top dogs of the underground brawling it out.

The group didn't have time to watch the fight any longer.

However, they still hoped that the Infernus would make it out victorious.

 

_About three hours later…_

Terry panted as quietly as possible as the group slunk through the pitch-black darkness. When the people at Vivid Clarity had said that the cave outside the Abyssal City was devoid of all light, they really meant it. Any light they tried to create was somehow sucked up by the massive crystals jutting everywhere, forcing them to sneak up to the city in total darkness. At least there were ultra-bright lights indicating a path to the city - although they had to diverge from it as much as possible, for obvious reasons.

Trying to enter as discreetly as possible, the group arrived at the entry point that they had agreed on - one of the locals living right outside the cave had been kind enough to give them a map of the city. The second they passed through the barrier that separated the city from the black void outside, they had to repress their awe.

_Wow._

The second they had passed through the barrier, the radiance of a sunset sky shone above their heads. In the center of it all, a golden palace loomed over the city, a massive obelisk jutting from its roof. From atop the tower, a bright golden light illuminated everything, while a weaker silver light seemed to be firing spotlights into the sky. Despite the cave mere meters behind them being as black as a clouded night, the Abyssal City itself was nearly indistinguishable from the surface.

The surface...how long had it been since they had taken on this task? It seemed like forever, but the surface seemed just as familiar as ever.

Noticing the steady flow of cultists between the buildings, they silently crept around the outskirts of the city, taking cover behind foliage whenever possible. For such a large force, they didn't seem to guard the city perimeters very well. However, the same could not be said for the main palace, which was absolutely bristling with guards.

"I really don't think Vivid Clarity thought this one through...and neither did we." Jerry muttered as the group ducked behind a pillar. "How are we supposed to get through that?"

A feminine voice answered from their right. "Well, for starters, don't try it."

The group whipped around in surprise. They were on an elevated piece of land, shrouded by foliage, and the voice had come from slightly beneath them. As they stared at each other, the voice spoke again. "I know you're there. Come out from behind that pillar, before I have to drag you out myself."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got carried away while writing the horror story segment, but I couldn't help putting in some cheeky Garfielf references. And yes, I'm subscribed to /r/imsorryjon.
> 
> Explosion dragon was a neat little creation of mine. I used a lot of things for inspiration, but I think the most notable one was Roy Mustang from FMA. The guy's power is just too dang cool.


	12. Confrontation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters just keep taking longer and longer aaaaaaaaaa

So, before they knew it, the group was forced to stand before the mysterious woman who had found them. Unsurprisingly, she looked human enough - with fair skin, long silver hair, golden eyes, and a similarly golden cloak. However, like the other mages they had seen before her, she radiated with an unnatural pressure that gave away her level of magical potential. That pressure seemed to be different with every mage - hers made all of the surface humans feel like the air was electrically charged.

And of course, that pressure wasn't the only one the party felt - the golden spear this woman held in her hand unnerved them as well. The weapon looked like some kind of ancient artifact, but its blade still looked sharp enough to effortlessly cleave through rock. Nestled in a small guard made of spiraling golden designs, its lightning-bolt shaped blade hummed with magical energy, its edges shimmering with prismatic, aurora-like light.

The woman pointed the spear at them. "Put down your weapons."

"First of all," Simon asked, "Who the hell are you?"

The woman frowned. "Getting straight to the point? Well, I suppose there's no harm in that. My name is Celeste, and I'm a leader for the mages who serve Archon."

"A...leader?" Jerry asked.

Celeste nodded. "I've given you my name. Now, give me yours."

One by one, the group introduced themselves.

Celeste nodded again. "I see. And this...Trinity is the spirit I've been hearing about, is it? Pardon the rhetorical question - I know for sure that she's the one we've been looking for. Although, I must hand it to the humans on the surface for being able to do what we could not."

Suddenly realizing that they had failed to comply with her previous request, Celeste's eyes narrowed and glowed with a faint golden light. "My apologies, I lost track of my objective. Now, put down your weapons. All of them."

The group looked at each other, sharing a silent agreement before complying.  _ If this Celeste is a leader of the cult, she's likely extremely powerful. Getting into a sudden fight like this would be suicide. _

"Bjorn?" Celeste called. "I know you're waiting there - you don't have to wait for me to finish. Come over here and help me collect these weapons."

The group watched as another cloaked figure slunk from the shadows - this one clothed in blue robes rather than yellow, and with a sword sheath strapped to his belt. He seemed quite a bit shorter than Celeste, with short silver hair and icy blue eyes. Like Celeste, their magical potential became apparent as he approached them - but he gave off an aura of emptiness instead of the electrifying pressure from before. Looking into his eyes, they seemed completely devoid of emotion.

As the blue mage inspected the pile of weapons, Celeste elbowed him. "We introduced ourselves to each other. It's courtesy for you to do so as well."

The mage nodded and bowed. "As you say. Humans of the surface, my name is Bjorn. I am a soldier of our lord Archon - one of the ones who lead the advance towards our ultimate goal. And Celeste is my older sister. Pleased to make your acquaintance...or not, since you're our enemies."

Despite their situation, the group couldn't help but note that the two mages were surprisingly civilized. They had been expecting the higher-ups in the cult to be lunatics.

Bjorn picked up their weapons, eyeing them carefully. "This is Granberg's handiwork. So he did betray us after all…well, I suppose Adam was right to raze his place to the ground, then."

"He  _ what?" _ Trinity suddenly shouted, her magical aura flaring to life.

Bjorn nodded. "It was his mistake for opposing us. He knew what would happen."

Trinity glared at him as her scythe began materializing in her hands. "Why, you…even so, his students were innocent, and you just killed them all!"

As Celeste stepped back in alarm, Bjorn drew his sword in a lightning-quick motion. In the split second that he was drawing his sword, Trinity caught a look at the weapon. The sword's hilt was intricately designed with numerous spinelike protrusions, and it had a blade that was slightly wider at the top. Like Celeste's spear before it, the weapon's edge glowed with aurora-like lights.

In the next half second, Bjorn lunged at Trinity, only to fly past her as she raised her scythe. Launching himself into the group, he let out a pulse of magic that knocked them all to the ground, only to grab Terry and raise his sword to the boy's throat. "I can't harm you, since we need you - but the same cannot be said for these humans. If you value the safety of your comrades, you will put away your weapon and do as we say."

Trinity grit her teeth, considering her options - and then did as he said. Even if she attacked and Bjorn somehow  _ didn't _ kill Terry, she didn't know if she would be able to handle Bjorn - especially since her friends had no weapons, and Celeste was standing there as well.

Bjorn nodded, roughly releasing Terry. "Good. Celeste, what are your directions?"

The gold-colored mage seemed to think about it. "I believe taking them to Adam can't hurt. He knows about what I've been planning, so I'm sure he'll understand what to do. Bjorn, take them and follow me."

Bjorn raised his hand, binding his six captives with glowing ropes as their weapons were coalesced into a floating pile beside him. Lifting them into the air with his magic, he grabbed his bindings and dragged both them and their weapons behind him as he followed his sister further into the city.

As they walked, Celeste decided to ask a question. "Out of curiosity...why do you fight for the surface? Is it just because they created you, or is it something else?"

Trinity replied instantly. "It's not as simple as that. Sure, it's the world I was created in...but I started with no knowledge on it, and as I learned about it, I grew to love it. So, I'll fight for my world, and all of the wonderful friends I made in it...especially Terry, whom I owe for nearly everything I am now."

"Terry…" Celeste said slowly, as if unfamiliar with the name's sound - to be fair, she probably was. "And what did this...Terry do to make you so indebted to them?"

"When I appeared in this world, I was like an infant - scared, helpless, and clueless about the world I was in." Trinity told her. "Terry took me in. He taught me things, took care of me, played with me, and comforted me when I was scared. Even after we realized that I wasn't as innocent as I seemed...he forgave me."

Celeste nodded. "I see. In that case, I guess your feeling is justified."

"Alas, you're still opposing us." Bjorn muttered. "Justified or not, we won't show mercy to those from the surface - especially when we need them."

To the mages' surprise, Trinity nodded. "I do wish that I didn't have to fight you in the first place. If there was any way to solve this peacefully - to bring peace to both of our realms - I promise that I would attempt it in a heartbeat, regardless of difficulty. But from what I've seen and heard, it's too late for that. I'm sincerely sorry for what happened to your kind in the past, but if it's our world or yours - I'm sorry, but I'll take ours anytime."

Celeste seemed to gaze into the distance. "So you understand why we must do this...but your desire for peace has piqued my interest. You have a pure heart, and your friends don't seem bad either - it's a shame that you're so important to our plans, otherwise I would genuinely consider letting you go."

Bjorn frowned. "Really, sister? They're our enemies."

"Enemies as they are, they still deserve respect." Celeste replied. "It's what separates us from those humans who exiled our lord and our kind."

The blue mage fell silent.

As they walked, there were furious murmurs from all around as cultists flocked to the scene, agitated by the appearance of surface humans and ecstatic at the appearance of a spirit. Before long, they had arrived in an open clearing some distance in front of the main castle gates, where the crowd of cultists formed a ring around them.

As the group tensed even more, the crowd parted to let a tall, crimson-hooded figure through. As the figure slowly approached them, form completely obscured save for their fiery eyes, the rest of the cultists bowed to him.

_ This must be their leader...Adam. _

 

Adam slowly walked around them, silently observing them. The group felt their skin crawl as his baleful gaze seemed to wash over them. Like before, they felt a pressure permeating the air - this time, one of raw power and concealed madness. 

Then, the hooded cultist spoke - his voice surprisingly youthful-sounding. "Well, well, well...you must be the humans I heard about. I must say, I'm impressed that mere surface dwellers were able to wield our magic, much less sneak into our base. It's all because that fool Granberg betrayed us to help you...and those wretched scientists must have been guiding you as well."

Ignoring the murderous gazes from his captives, his gaze shifted to Trinity. "And this is the spirit that I've been hearing about? I must admit, you look far weaker than what I imagined - but even more surprising still is the fact that the surface created a spirit before us. Even when that spirit is before my own eyes...it's inconceivable, and highly infuriating."

As the head cultist spoke, the group could hear his voice quivering from barely-restrained fury and hatred. It was only their first meeting, and Adam's madness was already fairly evident - the madness of an immature mind forcibly crammed with generations of hate and prejudice, if Granberg had been correct. It wasn't a matter of  _ if  _ Adam would lose his temper or not - it was a matter of  _ when. _

Adam motioned to Bjorn. "Boy, release them - but keep their weapons, and make sure they don't take any action against us."

Bjorn snapped his fingers, and the magical bonds around the group vanished. Instantly, the group entered defensive stances despite being unarmed, and Trinity's eyes narrowed as the magic aura around her grew in intensity. In response, every cultist within a ten-meter radius pointed their weapons at them, charging the air with power.

"You're powerless and utterly at our mercy, and yet you would still choose to defy us like this?" Adam asked quietly. "You are either extremely brave, or extremely foolhardy."

"Nah, I'm just pissed off." Terry growled. "You threaten to destroy our world, and you expect us  _ not _ to resist? What kind of-"

"SILENCE!" Adam suddenly roared. "You have no idea how much we've suffered because of your kind. Not only did they force our glorious lord to leave us, they locked us away beneath the surface - and why? Because we were different? Because we were leagues more powerful than them? We could have been so much more if it wasn't for them. We won't take that offense sitting down - we'll awaken our lord, rise up, and eradicate those usurpers. By purging those wretched surface dwellers from this Earth, we'll finally be able to claim what we deserve. This is retribution...this is justice!"

All of the cultists nodded in unison, looking like they were in a daze. Even the party could feel his words wash over them with an almost physical force.

_ He's not being rational. _ Terry thought.  _ Like Granberg said, the generations have twisted their original motive into something far more sinister - and it's clear he's become extremely unstable thanks to his ancestors and their curse. And that must have been Absolute Authority...all of the others can't help but eat up his words. _

Externally, however, Terry just grit his teeth. "Well, I  _ do _ have an idea, in fact. But despite how much I'd like to break every last one of your teeth, I'd prefer that we can work things out verbally before.things get violent."

Benjamin gave him a look. When they had been brought before the cult leader, he had expected his younger brother to instantly attempt to go on a rampage. Perhaps he really had learned from what they had advised him on.

To their surprise, Adam nodded. "Funny thing. I was thinking of that too. But  _ you're _ not important to me - that spirit is my concern."

And with a wave of his hand, a black sphere formed around him, slowly expanding until it was about five meters in diameter. Then, Trinity yelped as she was promptly sucked into it.

"K-Kid?" Olivia yelped.

"Trinity!" Terry yelled.

 

Trinity felt herself falling into nothingness. Then, her descent slowed as she gained her balance and landed on an invisible surface - right in front of Adam, who stared down at her with those fiery eyes of his.

"Trinity…" Adam began. "Is that your name?"

The spirit didn't answer.

Adam tapped his boot. "Girl, I asked you a question. I expect a reply."

Trinity felt that it'd probably be best to follow what he said for now. "Yes, I'm Trinity."

In a sudden motion, Adam raised his hand and produced a crimson rune in front of him, which seemingly shot a ray of light into Trinity. Before Trinity could even defend herself, the beam subsided - leaving her totally unharmed. "Memories...are important things, wouldn't you agree. You lost them when you first came into this world, and desperately sought them out...only to fall into regret as you were exposed to the truth."

"Y-You read my mind?"

Adam began pacing around her, embers dancing in his wake. "Tell me, child of magic...why do you fight for the surface?"

Trinity looked at him incredulously, as if he had just asked her why people had to breathe. "Because I love the surface world? Because I was raised there?"

"Despite being of our world...you would defend the humans of that world?"

Trinity nodded. "Of course! I might be made of magic from your world, but I was raised by people from the surface. And I care a lot for all of those who took care of me - enough that I'm more than willing to protect it from you lot."

"Do you know what they have done to us?" Adam hissed. "Because of them, our kind has been stuck down here for centuries! And our lord, who granted all of us the gift of magic, is now trapped in an unflattering inanimate form unworthy of his grandeur, all because he felt pity for those who would shun him! And to make matters worse, not only have they shunned Archon's gifts, they've erased them from the face of the planet! Surely you can see that our cause is just!"

Adam's magically-charged words rippled through Trinity's body like a tsunami, but she steeled her nerves and spoke up. "You're not making a whole lot of sense. I'm sorry for what happened in the past, but you really have to let bygones be bygones. Even if humanity has wronged your kind,  _ destroying the world _ isn't the right path to take. That isn't justice...it's petty revenge."

Adam's eyes blazed again. "They are not worth saving! The humanity that banished us was rotten to the core - and from the looks of the world today, they haven't changed. You of all people should know...haven't humans caused you so much suffering? How much pain have the follies of the surface dwellers caused you?"

These words, coupled with his Absolute Authority, gave Trinity pause. It was true that the world had caused her a great deal of pain. Images flashed through her mind - scenes from the news she frequently read about, where injustice ran rampant and people committed horrific atrocities against their own kin. Senseless violence, wanton destruction, innocents being hurt or killed for no reason...Trinity knew that the sickening atrocities Adam was showing her were true.

Then came the more personal memories - from when all her classmates had shunned and hurt her, from when her parents had left her all alone, from when Pablo had kidnapped and killed her just for knowing too much, from when those bullies kept trying to hurt her for no reason…

...However, she also remembered all of the blessings the world had given her. That boy who had befriended her during her childhood. The reassurance that her parents had truly loved her until the end. Her friends, who treated her so well and helped her learn how to live. And of course, the one who took her in, mentored her, and even forgave her for all she had done wrong.

"...You're right. The world isn't the best place, and it's caused me a lot of pain." Trinity muttered. "However, it's also brought me so much joy. All of the people I care about are reason enough to believe that the world isn't all bad...they're living proof that humans can be truly good. For all the bad in the world, I believe there's more than enough good to balance it out. And if you accuse the world of being rotten, yet seek to destroy it out of revenge...to me, that makes you just as bad as those you condemn."

And with that, she raised her hand and shot a comet of pale energy at the mad cultist. The burst was deflected by a fiery shield, but the action conveyed her intentions.

Adam roared in anger, stomping his foot and shattering the dark space. Instantly, they were standing where they were before. Trinity's companions stared at her in disbelief, while the cultists did the same to Adam.

"Oh, you're back." Terry said, relief audible in his voice. "Thank goodness."

An incensed Adam breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. "You...you dare ruin my attempt at a peaceful negotiation? Well...it's fine. I'm fine. It's all fine. Everything is fine. We have a backup plan anyways. Celeste, bring out our creation."

"As you say."

The golden mage reached behind her back, only to seemingly pull a helmet-sized object from out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, it  _ was _ a helmet of some sort - one that seemed to be made out of silver, with golden veins etched into it.

A snap of Bjorn's fingers, and magical ropes bound Trinity's arms and legs. With a wrenching motion of his hand, Adam grabbed ahold of Trinity and yanked her towards him, taking the helmet from Celeste and roughly jamming it onto her head. "You see, the conditions for Archon's awakening can be interpreted a few different ways. They said a spirit had to be able to awaken him with their own free will, which makes things like threatening said spirit out of the question. However...if we were able to bend a spirit to our will, and make them ours in body and soul...it would still make them eligible. They would be acting of their own will...but their will would be an extension of  _ our _ will."

As Trinity looked around in horror and tried to shake the helmet off, Adam tightened the strap around her chin, before pressing a switch on its side. Trinity yelped as small needles extended from the helmet's interior and embedded themselves into her scalp - they were short needles, unable to even penetrate her skull, but the sudden pain was still enough to jolt her. "W-What...are you…"

Adam glared at her. "I'm aware that you will try to resist. Feel free to, in fact. However, this device has worked on all magical entities we've tested it on so far - and I'm sure you'll be no different. It's also caused unimaginable pain in stubborn subjects, so the longer you resist, the harder it will be on you. Either way, it doesn't matter if it takes seconds or hours - you will be ours, and you will be the one to awaken our lord."

"You sick fiend!" Terry shouted furiously, only for Bjorn to bind his body with more magical ropes. The rest of the team moved in to attack Adam, only for Bjorn to do the same with them.

Celeste walked up to the bound Terry and reached into his bag, grabbing Trinity's core crystal. "Fergus told us about Trinity's nature, so I'm sure we'll need this."

"We don't need any interruptions." Adam told them, tying a string around the crystal and hanging it on Trinity's neck, the crystal itself dangling where her heart was. "However, I suppose you deserve a reward for making it this far. You five will watch as we seize your precious spirit for ourselves, and you will be our witnesses when we achieve our crowning victory - when we awaken our lord, and pass judgement on the people of the surface!"

 

When Adam had said "unimaginable pain", a part of Trinity thought he was bluffing. She'd had her fair share of painful experiences, so it'd probably be imaginable, right?

The first thing she felt was an incredible pressure on her mind. It was like some ethereal entity was crushing her brain, trying to force its way in. She could almost hear it whispering in her ears.  _ Let me in. Let me in. _

Her response was immediate.  _ Nope. Not happening. _

The second she refused, she instantly rescinded her assumption.

Complete and utter agony shot through her body. She would have screamed, but her entire body had seized up. This was magnitudes worse than anything she had ever experienced. She felt like she was being doused in acid, slathered in molten lead, pierced by metal spikes, and electrocuted - all at the same time.

Trinity's body finally relaxed enough for her to let out an agonized wail and futilely squirm against her bonds. Her companions grit their teeth and struggled, but without their magical weapons, they were just as strong as normal humans. Mild looks of pity started appearing on the faces of some of the less impassive cultists, but none of them moved a muscle.

As Trinity's vision flashed, she heard the voice speaking again.  _ Let me in. Do it, and this will end. _

Despite every instinct in her body screaming at her to relent, her fevered mind still refused.  _ If I give up, the world is going to be destroyed! I won't let you into my head! _

Almost instantly, the pain somehow intensified - making her feel like caustic buzzsaws were flaying her alive on top of all of the previous sensations. It took every last shred of effort in her body not to black out - if she did, then the spell would probably take control of her mind by force.

As her vision began to dim, she started fearing the worst.  _ But...how long can I keep this up for? _

"Yes...that's it!" Adam said, his voice trembling like a gleeful child. "Regardless if you submit or the agony consumes you, you will fall under our control. We will complete our task...nothing can stop us now!"

Evidently, however, Adam had never heard of the dangers of the words "nothing can stop us now". As soon as the words left his mouth, the sound of a distant explosion ripped through the air, shaking the earth and nearly knocking over everyone in the area.

"What in blazes was that?" Adam yelled. "Celeste, contact our sentries and get a video feed going!"

Celeste did as she was told, creating several floating projections in the air. Everyone - save for the screaming Trinity - peered into them, eyes widening once they saw the robotic army storming into the cave from every direction. Countless holes were blasted into the non-crystalline parts of the cave walls.

"V-Vivid Clarity?" Simon stammered.

"No, no, no!" Adam yelled. "All of you, strengthen the barrier, and get to your battle stations! We can't let them-"

He was cut off when the sky itself seemed to fracture, a massive hole opening in the artificial projection. As the barrier seemingly struggled to repair itself, countless engines of war were seen advancing towards the opening, unleashing waves of artillery fire.

"No!" Adam roared, his eyes practically spewing flame. "Don't just stand there! Hold them off at all costs...we're too close to victory!"

As the cultists - save for Bjorn and Celeste - rushed off to engage their enemies, Adam turned towards Trinity - just as she started going limp. "Yes! Finally!"

_ Just...a few more seconds! _ Trinity pleaded with herself.  _ Just in case there's some kind of miracle…that saves me… _

Her resolve paid off - that miracle came in the form of a plasma blast that struck her in the head with surgical precision, shattering the helmet that bound her. Instantly, the pain subsided as Trinity crumpled to the floor in a heap, breathing heavily as her bonds fell loose around her.

"What? No! How can this be?" Adam screamed.

Hundreds of meters away, atop one of his combat robots, Vincent lowered his rifle and smiled. "Looks like I was just in time. My aim hasn't gotten worse since last time, huh?"

Even in her numbed state, Trinity still acted fast. In a lightning-quick motion, she lunged at her friends and severed the magical ropes tying them up. Then, noticing Bjorn standing there in shock, she dashed at him and rammed him hard enough to send him flying. As his cluster of stolen weapons dropped to the ground, Trinity magically grabbed them before anyone else could, tossing them to her companions. Seconds later, all of them stood before the cultists, ready for combat once again.

"NO! This isn't fair!" Adam yelled, stomping his feet like he was throwing a tantrum. "We were so close...and those mongrels ruined everything!"

"Adam, it isn't too late." Celeste reassured him, brandishing her spear. "We can just reclaim the spirit, and use one of the prototypes for the device that was just broken. Hope isn't lost!"

The cult leader groaned and surveyed the situation. The majority of the other cultists had left to engage the Vivid Clarity forces in combat, leaving just him, Bjorn, and Celeste to take care of the enemy. His eyes narrowed. "Okay. So be it. Capture that spirit, and don't hesitate to injure her as much as you need to - I'm aware that she's all but invincible as long as that crystal is intact. As for the others...annihilate them. Show no mercy! Show them what happens when you oppose our will!"

 

While all of this was happening, Vincent grit his teeth in the cockpit of his combat mech. It was sheer luck that he had spotted Trinity and the others in time, and he was grateful for being able to save her from those madmen - he didn't know what they had been doing to her, but it didn't look pretty. He had come close to blowing their captor's head off as well - but had been forced to make a hasty retreat once cult forces had begun swarming out of the city.

He pressed a button, activating a scan for all nearby life that wasn't marked with a Vivid Clarity ID and sighing as he saw that their numbers were exactly as numerous as he had predicted. He didn't expect that this would be an easy fight, and many lives would likely be lost. But he still had confidence that they  _ could _ win the fight. They had mobilized nearly all of their subterranean forces for this assault - if they ended it here, the threat to the world would be neutralized once and for all.

The rift had descended into all-out war. Cascades of missiles and magic blasts soared above their heads, hitting their marks in both sides' backlines. The air rang with the cacophony of the endless explosions and constant fighting. In the center of the battle, soldiers and war machines brawled with each other in brutal combat, neither side willing to show any mercy to the other. His force was significantly smaller, but at the same time they had gotten the drop on the cultists, making their initial coordination better.

Vincent's attention was shifted as he saw a colossal rocky golem barreling towards him, hands outstretched. Turning on his motion controls, he raised his fists and swung downwards, his mech perfectly replicating his movements. Despite the golem being magically shielded, steel was still super-effective against rock, and his fists pounded the golem into the dirt before shattering its mineralized skull.

A formation of cultists opened fire, their barrage of magic screaming towards him. His deflector shield blocked the first wave of attacks, but Vincent wasn't stupid enough to think that they couldn't hurt him. Leaping away, he activated his mech's arm-mounted plasma cannons and fired off twin blasts of energy, which the mages blocked with a shield. As they fired back with gusto, Vincent barreled towards them while firing. A smaller group of cultists mobilized some magic artillery, firing blasts that staggered the machine. In response, Vincent kicked the artillery out of the way, crushing a number of cultists under the heavy batteries, before vaporizing the group with a point-blank plasma blast.

Did he feel guilty for nonchalantly killing them like that? Likely. But if he was to help save the world, things like morals came second to his goal.

Vincent became aware of a tank battalion forming behind him, their cutting-edge railguns unleashing lightning-quick bolts of destruction that crushed the cultist war machines like tin cans. The enemies fired back, their magical artillery melting holes in the tanks or outright blowing them apart. As several of the arthropod-like magical tanks engaged Vincent, he leapt over their next barrage before crushing one with his landing. Grabbing the pile of wreckage, he used it to block the next blasts before hurling it at the offender, causing both of them to explode. One of the remaining ones leapt onto him, clawing at his head with its serrated legs. Vincent wrestled with it for a bit, before tearing one of its legs off and jamming it into the control cabin, impaling the driver within.

_ Their combat machines can easily melt through metal with their magic, but they don't seem optimized for physical strength. _ Vincent thought, wrestling another spider tank off him before violently slamming it into the ground.  _ Our mechs aren't that big, to be fair, but they already seem physically stronger than their machines. _

"Combat avatars, three o' clock!" a voice yelled through his intercom.

"Oh, great." Vincent replied flatly, noticing a shimmering in the distance as a multitude of glowing figures appeared. The existence of combat avatars was something that they had managed to pry out of a captured cult general - apparently some of the stronger mages could form a large projection of energy around themselves, which would raise their normally-lacking strength to uncannily high levels. He had never doubted their existence, since he had to expect anything, but they still filled him with a mixture of awe and dread. The avatars were about the size of their combat mechs, fifteen-meter tall armored humanoids formed from shimmering light. Their bodies glistened like pearls, yet were transparent enough to see the user suspended in the center.

The avatars advanced, their footsteps crushing the earth. Several of them generated glowing weapons in their hands, twirling them menacingly. Several mechs moved in to intercept them, only for the avatars to raise their magical weapons and cut into the heavily armored machines with minimal effort.

One of them made a beeline straight for Vincent, who raised his fists in anticipation. Ducking under its first punch, Vincent swung and buried his fist into the avatar's face - which cracked the magical construct, the resulting shockwave blowing back the ground forces around them. Almost instantly, the avatar hauled back and struck again, grazing Vincent's shoulder. As he winced from the impact, the strike having superheated the armor that it had grazed, Vincent fired several plasma bolts into its face to distract it - only for it to ignore it and leap at him. Vincent grit his teeth as the combat avatar grabbed his mech around its waist and slammed it into the dirt, sending them both skidding across the battlefield. However, Vincent managed to flip his lighter opponent and stand back up before things got too messy.

The avatar shook its head and charged again, occasionally sidestepping to throw him off. However, Vincent had learned his lesson - the avatar's user was in its chest, making attacks on its head pointless. Firing a plasma blast at the figure suspended in the construct's center, the sudden flash from the attack succeeded in blinding them. As the avatar staggered, Vincent extended a blade from his wrist and stabbed a hole in its chest, grabbing the cut's edges and pulling with all of his mech's strength - until the magical shell cracked and burst asunder. As the mage within flinched in alarm, Vincent shoved his plasma cannon into the opening and blew them to kingdom come.

Three more avatars flanked him and charged, wielding various magical weapons. One was tackled out of the way by an allied mech, leaving Vincent to contend with the bow-wielding one and the axe-wielding one. The ranged avatar stopped a few dozen meters away from him and raised its weapon while their cohort attacked directly.

Vincent ducked under its first swing, taking an arrow to the arm just as he dodged. As the axe-wielder swung downwards at him, Vincent slid between their legs and kicked out, knocking the avatar off balance. Grabbing it around the neck, Vincent roared as he activated his mech's thrusters, soaring some ten meters into the air before driving the combat avatar into the ground with enough force to make a crater. Standing over his dazed opponent, Vincent raised his fist and smashed it into his foe's chest over and over, causing hairline fractures to spread throughout the entire construct.

However, his relentless assault was cut off by an explosive arrow that struck his shoulder, staggering him. His target's cohort created another arrow out of thin air and fired again, the explosive force bowling him over and nearly blasting a hole in his armored plating. Not one to squander the opportunity, the avatar that had moments before been at Vincent's mercy leapt on him, pinning him down with one arm and raising its other fist to crush him into paste. Vincent dodged the first punch, then repeatedly kicked out at the avatar's damaged torso. However, the avatar refused to let go.

Vincent dodged the second punch by centimeters, gritting his teeth as he kept struggling. He couldn't keep dodging forever - one good hit from that avatar would reduce his mech's head to scrap, with him inside of it. He needed help.

Just as he prepared for a third dodge, help arrived in the form of a swarm of pale entities, swarming the avatar and sinking glowing weapons into its shell. Each of the figures was a glowing spectre fused with mechanical weapons - several of them unloaded magnetically-accelerated bolts into the avatar, cracking its armor further. Capitalizing on the opportunity, Vincent leapt at the distracted avatar and pulled on its damaged arm, his mechanical strength shattering the armor and tearing its arm off at the shoulder. While the avatar staggered, Vincent got the weakened construct in a vice grip, increasing the pressure until the whole thing shattered and imploded.

_ Those mindless spirits can only mean one thing. _ "Oi, William! You there?"

A familiar voice spoke through his headset. "Sharp as ever. We're not about to let you engage in dangerous combat without helping, are we?"

"We?"

"What he said!" Kevin's voice yelled through the mic. "Me and William decided to take a more direct approach, but Iris is still off rigging the enemy's potential escape routes with all manner of traps. Will's remotely controlling his drones from somewhere, but mech piloting isn't something that's best done remotely. Take a look to your right."

Vincent did as he was asked. Amongst William's spirits tearing into the cultists with reckless abandon, there was a smaller mech waving at him. The machine had blue highlights running along its armor, and seemed like it wasn't held together too steadily - but Vincent knew that was the signature ability of Kevin's experimental battle machine."

"Man, you guys are the best." Vincent told his colleagues. "Also, Kevin, to your right."

Kevin responded to the direction, only to get a magical blast in the chest from the archer avatar that they had forgotten about. The blast tore a hole in Kevin's mech, only for the hole to rapidly start mending itself. Before long, it was as good as new.

As William's spirits swarmed the avatar, Kevin headed straight towards it, raising his hands to reveal openings in their palms. Two deafening bangs echoed through the air as supersonic metal slugs shot out of the holes, striking the avatar as twin comets of fire. The blasts punched enormous dents in its form, but it refused to falter - driving off William's drone swarm with a barrage of arrows. As the spirits fled, it turned towards the approaching Kevin and punched - only for the mech to detach its torso from its legs to avoid the attack. Surprised by this move, the avatar faltered and allowed Kevin to catch it in the face with a fierce hook, before unleashing an unreasonably fast flurry of punches that rapidly ripped his foe to pieces.

Vincent smiled.  _ Kevin's always been one to design innovative weapons. This idea really shouldn't have worked, but it does. A machine operating entirely on magnetic control...we marvel at what magic can do, but perhaps we should be thankful for what technology can do, as well. _

However, as several avatars made a beeline towards him, he sighed and raised his fists again.  _ It isn't the time to be dawdling. We have a battle to win. _

Yet he still wondered what Trinity and the others were doing.

 

Benjamin panted and blocked as fast as he could manage, the enemy swordsman bearing down on him with the full force of a raging blizzard. Not even giving his enemy time to breathe, Bjorn hacked and slashed with inhuman speed, all while advancing on his prey. Although it might have been a bit of a stretch, Benjamin was convinced that Bjorn's slashes were breaking the sound barrier.

"Simon...get him off me!" Benjamin yelled.

Simon leapt into action, raising his weapon and trying to line up a shot. Bjorn instantly switched his attention to the cop, raising his sword and lunging almost too quickly to see. Simon yelped and raised his blaster, only for Bjorn to duck beneath the shotgun blast of lasers. Terry leapt in before Bjorn could cut him in half, his shield absorbing the strike.

Terry strained as Bjorn instantly started to overpower Terry's defense. Even with his weapon's magic flowing through Terry's body, the magic swordsman's strength was overwhelming. The edges of Bjorn's weapon pulsed with prismatic light as he raised his sword and slashed again, sending Terry flying.

Benjamin moved in to defend his brother, raising his mace and swinging it at Bjorn's head. In response, Bjorn handily knocked aside the strike before slashing, his blade seeming to cut through space itself. Benjamin barely managed to duck under it, but the action left him unbalanced.

As Benjamin fell over, Terry roared back into action, sword and shield at the ready. Bjorn blocked a blast from Simon before engaging Terry, unleashing a flurry of strikes that crushed his frontal barrier like dry wood. Terry took the next strike with his shield and slashed, only for Bjorn to parry and send him flying with a barely-blocked riposte.

Meanwhile, Olivia yelped as another lightning bolt came crashing down from above, the flash of heat blasting the dirt into glass. From a distance, Celeste raised her spear, serpents of crackling energy swirling above her foes. Jerry raised his bow and unleashed several arrows, but the distance caused them to fizzle - letting Celeste handily deflect them with her spear. With another swing, a wave of electric javelins shot at the duo, forcing them to duck. Noticing Celeste swinging her spear downwards, Olivia yelped and leaped out of the way, while Jerry created a barrier above him. Seconds later, another pillar of electricity struck from above - Jerry's shield blocked it, but shattered instantly, forcing him to hastily reload his weapon.

Olivia raised her staff and unleashed a fusillade of fiery comets. Celeste countered them with a barrier that easily deflected them. She quickly retaliated with another burst of lightning, this one causing an explosion that sent the duo tumbling along the ground.

Trinity watched all of this unfolding and turned towards the last foe, brandishing her scythe. "You...you're hurting my friends! I won't allow that!"

Adam laughed as he raised his hands, the air distorting as a fiery sphere formed around him. "Your friends are weak. Their magic is a pale imitation of what a true mage can do - against my esteemed generals, all they can do is feebly cling to life. And as for you, spirit...you're still but a child, and are no match for my powers. If you truly think you can harm me, then by all means - try to strike me down."

That was all Trinity needed to hear. Yelling in anger, she dashed at Adam and slashed - only for the barrier around him to instantly disintegrate her scythe. Trinity quickly halted her momentum before she could run into the barrier as well.

As Adam simply chuckled, Trinity regenerated her scythe and tried again - only to get the same result. Raising her hands, she fired several blasts of ghostly blue light, but those evaporated upon contact with the sphere. Gritting her teeth, she telekinetically pulled a few loose bricks from a nearby building and hurled them at the mage's head, only for them to melt into slag and splatter around him, hissing.

Adam spread his hands, the fiery barrier around him shimmering like it was made of molten magma. "You may be a spirit, but your magic is no match for me! I have the experience and power of my entire bloodline behind me - nothing you do can penetrate this molten barrier! For an experienced mage, taking down this barrier might be a slim possibility, but you are no mage!"

Trinity brandished her scythe.  _ Is there really nothing I can do against that barrier? None of my attacks are getting through it! _

The fire mage raised his hands as the air began to distort. "I have no need to fight seriously against weaklings such as yourselves. But I suppose it couldn't help to give you a taste of my true power, hmm?"

Trinity barely had time to dodge aside as Adam fired a colossal blast of flame, the shimmering torrent blowing through the area that the spirit had just been floating in. The fire blasted through several nearby buildings, completely incinerating them and leaving nothing behind except piles of molten sludge and hissing embers.

As the spirit gasped, her hair singed from the heat, Adam laughed. "Now you fear the power you are up against! You are clearly outmatched in this situation - surrender yourself to us, and I might just spare your friends!"

"Don't you dare say that!" Trinity retaliated. "You would never keep that promise!"

However, she had realized that Adam didn't seem like he would be using a whole lot of attacks. He was so utterly confident in his and his generals' abilities that he didn't see a need to even fight properly. She remembered what Granberg had said: power makes one complacent. Hell, Adam didn't even have a weapon!

Gazing at her friends fighting, she analyzed the situation at hand, taking advantage of the fact that Adam was just menacing her and not actually attacking. In terms of raw power, her allies were easily outmatched. But something was bothering Trinity. Their three fighters more optimized for close combat were fighting Bjorn, a swordsman, while their two long-ranged attackers were fighting Celeste, a caster. She recalled how when she attacked the cultists earlier, Bjorn had instantly retaliated while Celeste had nearly panicked. If Celeste was scared by the potential of a close-quarters fight...could one mage's specialty be their partner's weakness?

"Guys!" Trinity yelled, vaguely aware of Adam advancing on her from behind with a fireball in his hand. "Switch positions! Ranged on Bjorn, close combat on Celeste! I have a feeling that-"

She was cut off when Adam hauled back and hurled the fireball at her, the searing comet nearly blowing her head clean off. Leaping over the mage to draw his attention away from her friends, she brandished her scythe and stood firm, clutching her core crystal. Adam couldn't afford to destroy it, but he also probably wouldn't hesitate to target it.

Meanwhile, Terry thought about what Trinity had just said as he dodged another one of Bjorn's slashes. Suddenly, the pieces clicked together in his mind. "Everyone, do what the kid said! I think she's onto something!"

Ducking under Bjorn's next slash, Terry sprinted towards Jerry and Olivia, while Simon and Benjamin followed suit. Noticing this, Olivia and Jerry sprinted towards them as well. Swerving aside from the lightning bolts Celeste was raining on top of them, the two groups quickly switched positions and resumed combat.

Bjorn's face was as emotionless as ever, but the group made out a faint look of dread on Celeste's face. Another sign that their decision had been a wise one.

Yelling fervently, Simon charged the golden mage, who raised her spear and unleashed another wave of electrified comets. Raising his blaster, he fired off several conical blasts of magic that detonated the electric orbs in midair, sending a shower of sparks cascading over them. Terry and Benjamin flanked her while Simon reloaded and occupied the mage with a barrage of gunfire. Noticing Terry rapidly approaching her, Celeste raised her spear and hurled a shotgun blast of thunderbolts, which struck Terry's shield and staggered him - but failed to stop him. As Celeste raised her spear again, Terry gathered all the power left in his sword and shield before releasing it in a burst of light. The blast didn't do any damage, but released enough light to temporarily blind Celeste - allowing Terry to quickly reload his weapons and get even closer.

As Celeste blinked the spots out of her eyes, a magical bullet whizzed past her head - prompting her to raise a shield in Simon's direction. In response, Simon reached behind him and pulled out his magnetic accelerator, firing off a salvo of grenades. These did just as much damage as his magic blaster, but the conventional explosives produced enough smoke to obscure Celeste's vision. As the mage's eyes flickered, she quickly realized that this was a distraction - but too late. All of a sudden, Terry burst from the smoke, sword raised and ready to strike a lethal blow.

Celeste raised her spear to defend herself, only for Terry's blow to handily knock it aside. As her eyes widened, Terry lunged and started pressuring her with a series of slashes. The mage continuously tried to block, but she was a lot slower than Terry had initially expected - not to mention physically weaker.

_ So that's why she seemed scared to let us close to her. _ Simon thought as he advanced.  _ She's a menace at a distance, but can't actually hold her ground at short range. _

Celeste got a lucky strike and nearly took off Terry's ear, the electrical discharges from her spear singing his hair. Eyes widening in shock, Terry ducked as Celeste slashed horizontally, kicking out and easily toppling the mage. However, before he could capitalize on the opening, he registered a whizzing sound approaching from behind and ducked - just as a razor-sharp ice shard shot over his head like a bullet.

A few dozen meters away, Bjorn lowered his sword, its edge glowing with harsh blue light. Noticing Celeste taking the opportunity to scurry away, Terry cursed under his breath.  _ He can attack at range like that? Well...so can we, so I guess that's fair. _

As Bjorn raised his sword again, he was cut off by a barrage of comets courtesy of Olivia. Instantly turning towards the new threat, Bjorn lunged at her, handily cutting down the arrows that Jerry shot to stop him.

However, during their time spent bombarding him with magical ordnance while the others dealt with his sister, the two youth had discovered that Bjorn was not nearly as sharp as his weapon. While he was incredibly fast and as unstoppable as a bullet train, his attention was always focused on the one who had attacked him most recently. So, while they had suffered a few close calls, most notably when he had revealed that he could use ranged attacks, it was surprisingly easy to lure him around.

While Jerry narrowly avoided a few more ice blasts from the pale swordsman, Celeste scrambled through the abandoned alleyways, searching for a vantage point from which she could rain hell on her enemies. Noticing a relatively undamaged tower far from the fighting, she made a beeline towards her new position. However, as she ran, her foot kicked a loose object. She barely had time to register it as a loop of rope before it tightened around her ankle and pulled, sending her tumbling to the ground.

"I thought you'd try something like this." Benjamin said casually, holding the other end of the rope. "You're only good from long distance, right? So I figured you'd probably try to head up there and use your lightning to help Bjorn from afar. Fortunately for me, I'm quite good at quickly setting up simple traps."

Celeste grit her teeth as she cut the rope with her spear. "Not bad, human. It's true that I'm far worse than my brother or even Adam when it comes to close combat. But I still wield power over lightning - can you weather the storm?"

Benjamin barely gave her time to finish, cloaking himself in a shield and rushing at Celeste with his mace raised. In response, the mage raised her spear and charged up a ball of electricity, before hurling it at the approaching man. Benjamin managed to duck aside, but the crackling discharges from the orb still threatened to punch holes in his shield.

Just as he approached with his mace raised, Celeste whipped up a slicing maelstrom of electricity, forcing him back. The swirling bolts formed a wall of furious energy in front of him, blocking his path.

"Fear the power of the storm!" Celeste boasted. "If you find a way to break through this, I'll be-"

She was unceremoniously cut off as Benjamin hefted a nearby brick, charged his body with magic, and hurled it, the heavy chunk of stone piercing the storm and striking her squarely in the gut. Even if that storm would rip his shield apart and burn him to ashes if he entered, he had been willing to bet that it couldn't blow apart a larger chunk of a more insulative material fast enough.

While Celeste was stunned, Benjamin plowed through the weakened storm and raised his mace to clobber the golden mage. In response, Celeste blocked the strike with her spear, but the strike nearly knocked her over again. As she tried to get farther away, Benjamin stayed close to her, swinging his mace to constantly knock her strikes off balance. In addition to her lack of melee prowess, Celeste's mystical weapon wasn't helping her a lot - a spear wasn't the best option for close combat.

Eyes glowing with light, Celeste stared at her attacker as lightning arced off her body, striking the nearby buildings and tearing window frames from them. With a shout, she split the frames into beams and hurled them at her foe. Taken off guard, Benjamin ducked under the metal barrage, nearly allowing Celeste to impale him on the spot. However, before that happened, a barrage of gunfire forced the mage to jump aside.

"Oi!" Simon yelled as he ran towards his teammate, Terry following right behind. "You didn't forget about us, did you?"

Celeste leapt away as Simon raised his blaster, unleashing another barrage of magical gunfire. Terry leapt at her as she landed, and Celeste barely managed to block his slash with her spear. The mage slung spell after spell, but they were all rendered ineffective at such close range - only serving to obliterate everything in the area  _ but _ her targets.

As the trio pushed her back, a nearby pile of rubble exploded as Bjorn misfired another attack. Farther away, Jerry and Olivia reloaded their weapons and unleashed another wave of magical artillery, forcing him to cut them out of the air with an inhumanly fast series of slashes.

While all this was happening, Trinity was dashing and ducking for her life as she tried to throw off her attacker. Adam's fiery magic terrified her, but the cult leader hadn't actually fired off too many shots - partially because he couldn't afford to outright kill her, and partially because he didn't seem to be able to control his firepower. So, he had simply stood still with his impenetrable barrier up, trying to line up shots and occasionally letting loose with fireballs hot enough to instantly obliterate the nearest buildings.

However, the fact still remained that Trinity had no way to damage Adam at all. She had already tried hurling nearby objects at him, but his barrier would always either deflect them or outright vaporize them. However, after watching her friends fight off the other two mages, she was starting to piece together an idea.

"Are you ready to give up yet?" Adam asked, advancing on her with flames in his hands. "This is going nowhere for both of us, and you can't possibly win."

In response, Trinity turned around and fled.

"Wait, what?" Adam asked incredulously, immediately giving chase. "You can't just do that! Don't you dare try and run!"

However, Trinity wasn't aimlessly running. She shot towards Bjorn, who was deflecting another barrage from Jerry. Raising her scythe, she slashed - as expected, Bjorn noticed her and instantly blocked her strike without even looking.

His attention drawn, Bjorn's sword blazed with blinding light as he lunged, nearly taking Trinity's head off right there. Leaping out of the way, Trinity narrowly dodged another slash before running in the opposite direction. Bjorn followed her closely, taking lightning-quick slashes whenever he saw an opportunity.

However, Trinity took care to stay just out of Bjorn's range, even as her pursuer's attacks repeatedly cleaved through the space behind her.  _ He seems to be blindly attacking...if nobody here can break Adam's barrier, perhaps one of his fellow mages can…especially since he seems to use a lot of attacks involving cold and ice. _

Fortunately for her, Bjorn had fallen for it and started firing comets of freezing blue light from his sword. As each blast soared towards their target, they spontaneously froze all of the moisture in the air, sending showers of ice crystals cascading to the ground in their wake. Trinity frantically swerved to avoid them, using her scythe to cut down the ones that she couldn't.

Adam rapidly approached from the other direction. "Now we have you! You're surrounded!"

In response, Trinity smiled. "Is that so?"

As Bjorn hauled back and lunged, becoming a comet of steel and icy energy, Trinity ducked and flattened herself against the ground. The cold scorched her, but Bjorn flew harmlessly over her - striking Adam head-on. 

The moment his attack struck his molten shield, an eruption of steam burst forth. Hissing sounds filled the air as the fiery sphere started rapidly losing power. By the time Bjorn realized what had happened and pulled back, Adam's shield had been reduced to a flickering corona - which Trinity promptly buried her scythe into.

Bjorn backed up in shock as Adam gaped. "W-What? How in the name of-"

With a shout, Trinity sliced open the barrier, leaving Adam completely exposed. Eyes blazing with light, the spirit hauled back and swing, the blade of her scythe digging into Adam's arm. The crimson cultist roared in pain and disbelief as Trinity pulled out her weapon and prepared to swing again. However, this time she struck him with the wrong end of the scythe by mistake, sending him hurtling backwards instead of cutting him.

Dashing aside before Bjorn could skewer her from behind, Trinity prepared to fight again as Adam shakily stood up. Blood was dripping onto the cobblestones from his wound, and his hood had been knocked off. To Trinity's surprise, the face under the hood wasn't some infernal beast or fiery apparition. Neat brown hair, modest features, light skin...Adam could have passed for a normal human, save for his fiery red eyes and the twisted expression of rage on his face.

"You…" the cultist leader growled. "You DARE touch me? To be injured by one with such paltry abilities...inconceivable! This must be some mistake...it's not right, not right!"

As Adam raised his hands, the surrounding temperature went up by ten degrees as the air began to warp and distort. "I refuse to accept this! We should be heading to victory now! And now, for me to be injured like this…"

Trinity barely had time to duck before Adam became wreathed in a cyclonic inferno. "You will pay for your crimes! Die, DIE, DIE!"

Pyroclasmic torrents of fire erupted from every part of the cyclone, their aim erratic and completely random. Trinity screamed as she frantically weaved for her life, the scorching blasts melting buildings and blasting craters into the ground. Farther away, Bjorn ducked between the meteors while Trinity's party gathered up and procured a shared shield. Celeste took cover within a tower, only for the barrage to blast it to pieces.

The indiscriminate firestorm leveled everything in the vicinity, reducing an area about forty meters in diameter to an ashen wasteland. As Adam lowered his hands and panted, Trinity groaned and raised her scythe, facing down a relatively unharmed and quite angry-looking Bjorn. Farther away, Celeste dug herself out of the rubble while the other surface humans surrounded her.

Bjorn struck first, lunging almost faster than Trinity could blink. Already tired from her previous fighting, Trinity barely blocked the strike as it sent her hurtling into a nearby pile of rubble. As Bjorn prepared to take advantage of her temporary incapacitation, he was met with a shield to the face as Terry used magic to launch himself like a human rocket.

While Bjorn staggered, Terry wasted no time lunging at Adam. The fiery mage created a massive fireball and hurled it at his foe, but Terry ducked out of the way and slammed him in the chest with his shield, sending him reeling. Adam raised his hands and unleashed another barrage - but despite each fireball packing enough power to level a building, his aim was so poor that Terry wondered if he was even trying to hit him. Although he was forced to block one fireball, which instantly shattered his frontal barrier, Terry reloaded his shield and lunged, his sword digging into Adam's already-injured arm.

The cultist's red eyes widened in shock and pain as Terry slashed, taking his arm off at the elbow. His sword tinged with blood, he raised it again and stabbed, the strike nearly impaling the cult leader through the torso. Against someone that wanted to end humanity, Terry didn't have time for mercy - if Granberg was right, and Adam truly was a tortured madman, then that was just double the reason to put him out of his misery quickly.

However, Adam's eyes flared to life again as he put his remaining hand on Terry's sword. As flames started dancing across the metal, Terry grit his teeth and tried to push the sword in deeper. However, Adam refused to relent, even as the sword pierced his body. "I will never lose...to someone like you…"

Realizing that he had probably missed the cultist's vital areas, Terry tried to slash and gut him like a fish, but Adam's flames intensified, causing Terry's sword to start heating up. In seconds, it had become too hot for him to hold, forcing him to let go of the weapon and back off.

Adam panted, blood dripping from his injuries. Using his remaining hand, he yanked the glowing sword out of his torso, the heat having already cauterized his wound. With a grunt of rage, he used fire to effectively liquefy the weapon, before crushing it under his boot. "Bjorn...help me deal with this infidel!"

From behind them, the icy swordsman raised his weapon and prepared to lunge, prompting Terry to raise his shield in anticipation and dread. Without his sword, he wasn't sure if he could survive an onslaught from Bjorn, much less him and an admittedly-wounded Adam together.

However, it turned out he didn't need to. As Bjorn raised his sword, there was a cry from behind them as Celeste took a solid hit to the gut from Benjamin's mace. The golden mage was slammed into a nearby building, dropping her lance on the ground. As Celeste tried to reclaim the glowing weapon, Simon kicked it aside as Benjamin swung again. Celeste managed to block the strike with her magic, but it was clear she wouldn't last long against the group. "Brother...help me!"

Bjorn heard his sister's plea for help and froze up. After a second of hesitation, he dashed to help Celeste, leaving Adam all alone.

"What?" Adam roared. "Bjorn, you fool! You dare leave your leader?"

"As it would seem, people have more important things to worry about than your safety." Terry told his opponent, raising his shield and preparing to bludgeon Adam into submission. "Not so convincing without your Absolute Authority, huh?"

"You do not have the right to speak to me that way!" Adam screamed, clutching his head in apparent pain. "I...I am Archon's most esteemed disciple. I am destined to lead our kind to victory - to lay waste to the people who wronged us so! I have persisted for so many generations...and I will not be stopped by-"

Adam was cut off when Terry walked up to him and buried his shield in his face while he was monologuing. Before Adam could recover, Terry raised his fists and started mercilessly beating Adam as the cultist tried to defend himself. It seemed that the mages of the underground really were weaker than surface humans without their magic.

For a second, Terry felt like their goal was in reach.  _ I can defeat Adam...and once I do, the others will likely stop obeying his orders. I...can end this battle! _

However, fate wasn't about to let him win that easily. Just as he dodged another fireball and knocked Adam on his back, there was a mechanical clicking from behind him. He barely had time to duck as a familiar glowing whip-sword sliced through the space where his head had been seconds before.

His weapon retracting, Fergus stomped into the fray, his suit's four glowing eyes glowing menacingly. "Adam. I'm astonished to see you in such a state, but I'm glad I arrived in time. The surface dwellers are doing a remarkable job, I must admit."

"Grr…" Adam growled. "It's just a minor setback. Our might should be able to crush these pests in due time."

Fergus seemed to hesitate a bit before turning towards Terry. "Challenge our leader, and you challenge me - mage-knight general of Archon's chosen. I hope you came prepared to die here."

However, he noticed that Terry was missing his sword. Gaze shifting to the molten remains on the ground, Fergus put two and two together. "However, it would be unsightly to battle someone without a weapon. Here, take one of my spares."

With that, he tossed a small cylinder to Terry, who grabbed it in surprise. Pressing a button on its side, he backed up in shock as a blade of bright purple energy emerged from it, revealing the weapon to be some kind of beam sword. Clutching it in one hand, he raised it in a guarding stance as Fergus prepared to attack.

"What are you doing?" Adam hissed. "Why did you give him a weapon? You could have just butchered the boy where he stood!"

"I could have, but I didn't want to." Fergus replied simply. "I believe in a fair fight...well, my power still far outmatches his, but slaying an unarmed opponent would leave a bad taste in my mouth. My leader, please flee and recover."

With that, he raised his hand and shot a barrage of purple arrowheads from his palm. Terry raised his shield to block them while the others carved deep gashes into the dirt and exploded, sending dust scattering across the area. In his mind, he considered his options - this new sword would give him a fighting chance, but it didn't seem to conduct magic, which left him with only his shield to use magical techniques. And Fergus was a terrifyingly strong opponent - it had taken all six of them to bring him down last time, and that had only temporarily incapacitated him.

However, Adam just shook his head. "There is no need for this. I have already decided on a plan of action. Fergus, retreat with me. Celeste, Bjorn, do the same!"

Fergus seemed surprised, but lowered his weapon and ran. As Terry tried to strike him while he was fleeing, Fergus simply let out a magical pulse that pushed him away. From further away, Bjorn shot towards his fleeing leader, his older sister in his arms. Evidently he had succeeded in rescuing her from the five humans' wrath.

"Hey, get back here, you cowards!" Terry yelled.

Trinity, who had been knocked out up until recently, dug herself out of the pile of rubble that she had been knocked into before. "H-Hey! Where are they going?"

"I don't know, but it doesn't look good." Olivia muttered, reloading her weapon and raising her staff. "Jerry, Simon, let's light them up."

Both of her teammates nodded, raising their weapons and unleashing a hail of magical blasts upon the fleeing cultists. However, they could only sustain the barrage for a few moments before becoming overwhelmed with fatigue. The blasts that they had managed to fire off were handily deflected by Fergus.

"Calm down, you lot." Benjamin chided, taking the last of Granberg's potions and pressing them into their hands. "We're all banged up after that fight, so take it easy. On the bright side, not only are we alive, it looks like they've taken quite a beating too."

Terry stared at the severed arm and pooled blood on the ground. "Yeah, that's true. But as long as they get away, I don't think this is going to be over."

Almost on cue, Adam's voice boomed from above. "Pathetic humans! You think you've won? Make no mistake, we will  _ never _ lose to a lot like you! NEVER!"

Atop of the central tower of the city's monolithic palace, Adam's voice was magnified by magic as Bjorn and Celeste stood beside him. All three of them must have used magic to get up there, because there was no way they had climbed all those stairs in seconds. Despite missing one of his arms and having a large puncture wound in his chest, Adam's voice still radiated with charisma, fury, and more than a few indications of mental instability. His eyes, which had once merely burned with flames, now looked like they were made of molten metal.

At the tower's base, Fergus pointed his sword at the party. "He's right. I admit, you and Vivid Clarity have put up an incredibly impressive fight. I expected no less from the ones strong enough to stand up to our will. But now, it's time to end this. Our leader's next plan will surely obliterate you!"

"As much as I hate to admit it...you scum have caused us great loss today." Adam murmured. "For those scientists to match our army's strength...and for you lot to injure  _ me,  _ and my two esteemed comrades...it must have been a terrible stroke of luck. And so...I have decided to make a decision. For the first time since their creation...I will activate the Abyssal City's idols...the great protectors that give this city life, and the ones who will eradicate all life that opposes it."

"You can't mean…" Fergus gasped. "Adam, hold on a minute! Those two were never completed! Even Desjardins, all those generations ago, was unable to create a method to control those two golems!"

"But he did!" Adam yelled, using his magic to brandish two giant glowing crystals - one orange, one blue. "Using the brains of great creatures born from Archon as a base, he was able to create two artificial minds for them. And the second I insert them into these two golems behind me, they will awaken and finish you off!"

With a start, the party realized that Adam was standing in front of a gigantic, bizarre structure. It resembled a gigantic upside-down claw with two massive wings protruding from the top. Numerous glowing cables were hooked up to the structure, snaking around the tower and feeding into metallic devices all around the palace.

From far away, Vincent crushed another combat avatar as his troops started pushing the cultists back towards their city. However, at Adam's speech, he stared at the tower with dread. "That thing behind them...don't tell me…"

"Adam, no!" Fergus yelled again. "He created those artificial minds, but was never able to truly perfect them! They still retain all the feral animosity of wild beasts - even if they obey your orders, they'd likely cause countless casualties to our own soldiers! If they escape, they could even kill countless innocents in the surrounding settlements!

"The spirit has arrived in our city, victory is within our reach, and you want me to  _ throw this opportunity away?"  _ Adam roared. "I believe, Fergus, that you have heard that in order to achieve victory, one must be willing to do anything. And when I say anything... _ I mean it! BEHOLD!" _

And with that, he inserted the crystals into two slots behind him.

 

The effect was immediate.

A titanic rumble spread through the city as the countless cables became disconnected from their source, the glow lighting up the tower dimming as the devices surrounding the tower shut down. The golden light shining from atop the tower vanished, and the artificial sky seemed to shatter.

As the city was shrouded in darkness save for the lighting from the intact buildings, Terry raised his shield as the group huddled together. "What's with this? What's going on?"

Fergus marched up to them grimly. "Aureum Solis and Argentum Luna, the Golden Bulwark and the Silver Emissary. Two magical golems of unimaginable power, created by the genius mage-engineer Desjardins to create an artificial sky for our city. However, they were also designed to be war machines to serve our cause - but Desjardins never came up with a way of controlling them. And Adam...that man has just activated them."

Trinity summed up all of their thoughts in one phrase. "Uh-oh."

Fergus nodded. "For Adam to so brazenly endanger our own kind...I wouldn't have expected our leader to ever do a thing like this. I cannot allow these golems to rampage...I'll have to do what I can to neutralize them. Make no mistake, I'm not doing this for you. You are still our enemies...but I have bigger priorities for now."

Before anyone could say anything else, a metallic roar rang through the entire city. Then two massive shapes leapt from the tower, landing hard enough to cause a small earthquake.

As the dust cleared, the group made out a pair of lights shining through the gloom. One was orange and shimmered like a sunset sky, while the other was blue and held visions of starry vistas.

Then, with another roar, the dust fully cleared, letting everyone see the two titans in all their glory.

One of them was a giant quadrupedal machine resembling a fifteen-meter-tall spider, its four pointed legs sinking into the dirt from its weight. It was completely covered in heavy golden armor that burned with the light of a fiery sun, and gigantic fiery crystals jutted out of its back, crackling with barely-restrained magical energy. Instead of a conventional face, the golem's visage was merely an arrangement of massive glassy gems, the largest of which was like a visor as it scanned its targets.

The other, however, resembled a gigantic avian standing about ten meters tall. Its body was covered with lightweight-looking silver armor that radiated with moonlight, and the machine also packed wicked-looking talons and a beaked head with two gleaming blue eyes. Two enormous wings - nearly fifteen meters in diameter - cast a shadow over the group, their "feathers" seemingly made of glowing blue hexagonal crystals.

As the two machines let out another pair of metallic roars, everyone in the vicinity prepared for battle. The party raised their weapons, Fergus extended his sword, and all the Vivid Clarity troops turned towards the burst of light emanating from the city center. The machines had been active for mere seconds, but everyone could tell that they wielded ruinous power, and that this would be a fight that they may not walk out of alive.

"These machines were designed to crush insolent pests like you, and will fulfill their duty without fail!" Adam roared. "You have come far, humans of the surface, but it is time to meet your end. These two will crush you with their overwhelming power, and as you perish, we will claim your spirit to awaken our lord - before crushing the surface with his might! But enough talk - it's time for you to die! Solis, Luna - ATTACK!"


End file.
